A Change of Way and Life
by Simi098
Summary: Its a year after the end of the war and Draco is training to become an Auror to redeem his not so spotless past. Aurora is a shy and intelligent muggle-born witch who had been personally effected by the war. They couldn't be more different but will opposites attract? Rated M for future chapters.
1. First Sight

_**Hello everyone. This is a love story about Draco. I will not reveal too much in this little intro so there will be no knowledge to what will happen. I own nothing Harry Potter; it all belongs to J.K. Rowling.**_

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><p>Draco Malfoy walked down the crowded hallway to the elevators at the Ministry of Magic. Barely making it into a cramped elevator he hung onto a handle on the ceiling. He disliked being so close to people like this. After a short ride, the door finally opened and he quickly walked out of the elevator.<p>

He tried his best to avoid fellow witches and wizards gazes. He knew that some of them knew who he was, or rather, who his father was. But, ever since the war ended just over a year ago, he knew that he had to change.

Draco was ashamed at how he behaved in his school years. It had not been entirely his fault, he had been brought up to think that bad was good and that being a pureblood made you better than muggle borns or blood-traitors. Through all the years he spent at Hogwarts, he believed that rubbish.

Draco was exhausted after a day of Auror training. Deciding to be an Auror had been the best way for him to redeem himself. If he could put away the people who he used to side with, maybe people would eventually see his family differently.

Walking out the doors of the Ministry, he felt the warm summer breeze on his fair skin. He walked down the road towards Diagon Alley while glancing at the new and newly repaired shops.

The reconstruction of the wizarding world had started promptly after the war had ended. Many towns and businesses were starting new again and restoring the wizarding world to what it should be.

As he passed Weasley's Wizarding Wheezes he could see a memorial built for Fred just outside the doors, it was a plaque with some quote said by Fred that Draco wasn't close enough to read. While squinting to read the quote a blur inside caught his eye, it stopped behind the counter, it was a woman.

The woman stopped what she was doing and caught him looking at her. He could see that she had wavy blonde hair, and that she was fairly short. She was beautiful. Her eyes met his and they locked eyes for a moment.

Embarrassed that he had been caught looking at her, he quickly went on his way. Who was that girl? He had never seen her before... yet again he had never been in the Weasley's store. He assumed he wouldn't be welcomed.

Continuing down the street he headed toward the Leaky Caldron. He had never been there, his parents used to say that it was a dreadful lowly place. But, after having been there recently, he couldn't see the problem with it.

As he walked in spotted and empty barstool at the bar. Taking his seat he ordered a pint of butterbeer, it always reminded him of his earlier years at Hogwarts, before things went bad.

The past year since the war had been rough. Being on trial for being involved with Death Eaters had been frightening. After a short trial he had been free to go, due to his lack of activity in the group.

But, his father had not been so lucky; he had been sentenced to twenty years in Azkaban. The verdict was not a shock, but Draco wasn't even beginning to realize what it would mean to be away from his father so long.

Draco's mother was not found guilty. To the courts amazement, Harry Potter himself had testified on her behalf. If it hadn't been for his mother, Harry would not have made it back to the castle alive. Harry felt as if he owed it to her to save her from the same fate as her husband.

Taking a sip of his drink, his mind wandered back to the woman at the Weasley's store. There was something about her he just couldn't shake. Surely he hadn't seen her before; he would've remembered such a beautiful face. She was not a Weasley, that was slightly obvious by her blonde hair. She looked about his age, but he had never seen her at Hogwarts.

Finishing his butterbeer, he waved over the bartender, paid the bill, and got up off his stool. He walked through the door into the warm night and apparated to his home outside of London.

He sighed and set his coat on the nearest couch. Clenching his fists he tromped up the stairs to his bedroom and carefully took off his tie. Draco had always prided himself on dressing well, he had been doing it all his life. It would be rare for someone to see him dressed down.

As he looked at himself in the mirror he unbuttoned his black shirt. Throwing on a grey cotton t-shirt, he quickly changed into the more comfortable pair of trousers.

Draco looked around his small bedroom, moving out and being on his own had proved to be lonelier than he had expected. His parents manor was always full of life and movement. Moving out of his parent's manor had been a big step in his life. His mother, of course, did not approve of his absence, but her darling son was no longer a little boy.

Choosing the small home had been difficult. Growing up all he knew was fancy furnishing and décor. But, at the time it was all he needed. He sat down on the bed and wiped his tired eyes. Shutting his eyes for a moment his thoughts turned to his father. Twenty years was a long time. There was no doubt that after Azkaban he would never be the same. There would be so much he would miss. Draco's graduation from Auror training, his wedding, and maybe even the birth of his children if he had any. The thought of going through life without his father was odd, but Draco knew he had to accept it.

A quiet tapping on the window tore him away from his thoughts. Looking over to the source of noise, he smiled at the sight of his new white great horned owl with a letter. He opened the window letting her in.

"Thanks Lucille." He said as the young owl landed on his wrist. Draco took the letter gently from her beak.

The letter was from Ames. Draco first met Ames in Auror training, he was a few years older than him, but they quickly became friends. Ames had finished his training about a month before. He was currently in the Middle East searching for a wizard who had killed eleven muggles.

Draco unfolded the letter and handed Lucille a treat.

_D.M.,_

_Hello. First I must say that I cannot reveal where I exactly am or who exactly I am searching for. But, I must also say that I have seriously underestimated muggle warfare. It's brutal out here. Not only is it scorching hot, but everywhere I look there is a muggle holding a 'gun'. Using one of them is the equivalent of using the killing curse. It's too bad I won't be there to kick your arse in training anymore. Just so you know, do not reply to this message, I'm probably giving away too much information as it is._

_-A.A._

He smirked; it was nice to hear from one of his only friends, even if it was just a short letter. He had not been too popular after the war had ended, due to being an ex-Death Eater. At least things were starting to look up for the better.

. . .

"That will be seven sickles please." Aurora Adams said to a customer at Weasley's Wizarding Wheezes.

The young boy smiling up at her handed her the money and happily jogged out of the store clearly excited about his new purchase. It had been a slow day at work, the store was still relatively busy, but not compared to most days. She was glad for the time with nothing to do though, she had a lot on her mind.

Her older brother, Ames, had been on an assignment in Iraq for few weeks now. She was worried sick that he would get hurt or possibly even die. He was the only sibling she had, and the only family she had left.

Seeing no other customers in the store she went in the stockroom to check up on the supply of products. They had to restock often, the store was easily the most popular store in Diagon Alley. It had been even before the war, the Weasley twins were quite popular in school and attracted a large following of customers.

Hmm, she thought, they were low on love potions. Surprisingly, that was one of the most popular products. The results of customers using that particular product had not always turned out as they planned. A good example of this was the story Ron and Harry told of when in their sixth year, Ron ate chocolates meant for Harry that were laced with the potion.

Tromping up the stairs that led to George's office and apartment, she hesitated a moment and knocked on his office door.

"Yes, who is it?" George called from inside with a pleasant tone.

"It's me." She replied.

"Come in." He said succinctly.

The second she walked in the room there was a pop and rainbow smoke exploded in front of her face. She rolled her eyes and waved her arms to clear the smoke as she heard George laughing hysterically. Practical jokes were all just part of the job. The smoke clearing, she could now see him sitting in his desk. He appeared to be working on a new product.

She smiled and laughed a little when she saw that he was also covered in the rainbow colored smoke powder.

"I just came to tell you that we are running out of love potions." Aurora said, placing her hands on her hips.

He looked up from his little project and said, "And of course we can be out of those. I'll have some more made tonight; Ginny has become quite skilled at making them."

She smiled. "Alright then, I should get back downstairs." And with that she walked out of the room and back down the steps.

In the few minutes she had been gone the store had at least twenty more customers browsing and testing out their products. She quickly scurried back to the cashier counter, when she got there something caught her eye.

There was a man, seeming to be looking at her in the window through the front door. Her first thought was that he was rather attractive. He was also tall and slightly thin, unlike her. She could see even from a ways away that he had kind grey eyes.

When he saw her returning his gaze, he quickly looked away and walked on. Disappointed, but not surprised, she sighed. He probably realized that she was slightly overweight. Men were usually turned off to her because she had more curves than most girls, but she liked herself as she was and if they didn't like it that was their problem.

For the next two hours she helped customers find products and sold them. She rested her chin on her palm and remembered the odd moment with that man earlier. For sure he had been one of the most handsome men she had ever seen in her life. He was a simple kind of handsome.

She had only dated a couple guys in the past, none of which had lasted very long. That had been a couple years ago in her days at Beauxbatons. She had not been the most popular girl there but she survived well enough. There wasn't many boys to meet at Beauxbatons, the only time they did was at balls with other wizarding schools.

Her brother had only been accepted at Hogwarts because they were muggle born. Other wizarding schools had been more strict with accepting children of muggles. Aurora had always found it odd that she got a letter from Beauxbatons instead of Hogwarts.

Aurora was a fairly talented witch, she always in the head of her class. She didn't fuss about at school with much else but her studies and her few friends. But, she had always had a childish side to her, which is why she applied for a job at the Weasley's store.

Looking at the clock she noticed that it was about closing time, nine o'clock. Since George always closed and locked the store she gathered her stuff in her bag. Tugging on her light weight jacket she walked out the wide doors and walked down the street.

Aurora lived in a flat above Ollivander's just down the street. She moved in there almost a year before. With her parents gone, she had no other choice but to live on her own.

Approaching the shop, she opened the old door and walked in.

"Aurora? It that you?" Ollivander called from the stacks of wands.

"Yes." She replied as she walked down the aisle that led to the stairs. Turning left at the top of the staircase she walked down the narrow hallway. When she reached her door she pulled out her key and unlocked it.

Looking around her flat she felt a little lonely. She wished she at least had a roommate. _Yeah, I definitely need more friends,_ she thought.


	2. Nightmares

**The Next Day**

Closing the front door of his home shut behind him, Draco stepped out onto the street and took a quick look around. Deciding that no muggles were watching him, he apparated just outside of the Leaky Caldron.

He had decided to take a little detour on his way to training that morning. As he walked down the cobblestoned streets he observed merchants opening up their carts and store owners unlocking their doors for another day's business.

Draco continued along the road for a bit until he came upon Weasley's Wizard Wheezes. He secretly hoped that as he passed by that he would see the mysterious woman he saw the day before. Holding his breath, he slowly walked past the window and looked in.

There she was, behind the counter helping a school-aged girl. She looked just as gorgeous as she had the day before. Thinking he didn't want to get caught looking at her again like a creep, he quickly moved on his way.

As he entered the Ministry of Magic he looked around at the marble walls and flooring. After the war the Ministry had been restored to its original glory. Gone was the disturbing statue that was placed during the war.

Draco made his way through the other witches and wizards milling around to the elevator. He squeezed inside the quickly closing doors and pressed the button for the second to the bottom level. The level where the Aurors were trained, it was a rather large floor, but you wouldn't guess it from its location.

Waiting his turn to get off he observed the others in the elevator. There was a short man with a goatee wearing a long trench coat; there was also a rather tall woman with bright red hair wearing a tight skirt and a very revealing blouse.

Normally any man would be checking her out, she was good looking by societies standards. But, Draco wasn't like that. In fact she wasn't really his type; he had never really been attracted to thin girls. Or women who were taller than him for that matter.

Finally, the elevator door opened on his floor. He stepped off the elevator and proceeded to the dueling room. The large room had a dome ceiling bewitched to look like a starless night, there were no windows and all the walls and floors were padded. The first time he had seen it he thought it looked oddly familiar to the psychiatric ward at St. Mungo's. He still found it a little creepy.

Every day the trainees had a different partner to spar with, the pairings were posted daily on the bulletin board outside the room. Only a few people had arrived at the time so he walked up to the board and searched for his name.

**Draco Malfoy – Ronald Weasley**

He sighed loudly at his unfortunate luck. Even though Draco had nothing against the Weasley, he knew that Ron had hated him since first year. But, he knew he had been a bit of a prat in school. _Well this will be interesting,_ he thought.

Taking his place on the left side of the room, Harry and Ron walked in the room together. They still seemed to be almost attached at the hip. He waited as they both looked at the list. After a moment Ron let out a huge sigh of resentment and turned and glared at Draco.

Harry, having forgiven Draco after the trial, shrugged it off and wiped his face with his hand and went to his designated area of the arena.

Ron went to the opposite side of Draco and continued glaring at him. Draco smirked to himself at Ron's obvious discomfort.

The head of the Auror Training Department, Phil Montgomery, came into the room.

Everyone turned to him for the signal to begin.

"Today I will put two minutes on the clock and in those two minutes you will duel your partner, there will be no winner. This particular exercise is to teach you how to swiftly defeat your opponent." Phil announced to the trainees. "Also I do not want any permanently damaging spells flying around the room. Begin!"

With that the room was lit up with curses and spells. Draco turned his attention to the red haired man across from him trying to think of clever spells to send his way.

"Flipendo!" Draco said as he aimed his wand at his opponent. As the spell hit Ron, he fell backwards onto the cushioned floor as his face turned bright red with anger.

He quickly got back onto his feet and yelled, "Stupefy!"

Draco flew back and hit the wall behind him, as he fell he broke the fall with his hands before he fell face first. He scrambled to his feet and said, "Expelliarmus!"

Ron's wand flew out of his hand and gave him a dumb look, "Really?"

Annoyed, Draco replied. "Fine, not good enough for you? Incarcerous!"

In an instant Ron was tangled in ropes, he squirmed trying to access his wand but failed. Draco snickered as he watched him trying to untangle himself.

The bell signaling the end of the duel rang and all of the curses were lifted. The ropes entangling Ron disappeared as he grunted and got onto his feet.

For the rest of the training day they practiced dueling and quickly disabling an opponent. Draco was about ready for this whole training thing to be over, he had only a month left until graduation.

Then he would be able to go out on assignments, and perhaps catch a few of his father's old friends. The same men who tried to turn him into one of them, an evil man with a tainted soul. Draco thought of the person he had almost become every day. The look on their faces would be priceless when they would be caught by the son of a Death Eater.

Finally, the day was over and got back into the dreaded elevator. Unlike in the morning the elevator was filled will all of the future Aurors. He was squished between Harry and some other man he had never met. Draco certainly did not like to be in such close proximity to another man.

The elevator made a dinging sound as he doors opened onto the main floor. He made his way toward the main entrance and exit. Maneuvering his way around the other wizards and witches he got in one of the red telephone booths and closed the door.

A woman's voice sounded from the speaker in front of him. "Name and occupation please?"

"Draco Malfoy, Auror in training." He spoke clearly.

"Destination?" The voice asked him.

He thought for a moment. London which would take him straight home, or Diagon Alley, which would give him another chance to see the woman at the Weasley's store. He didn't have to think about it long before he knew which he would choose.

"Diagon Alley." He said, very sure of himself.

"Thank you for visiting the Ministry of Magic and have a wonderful day." The woman's voice spoke.

The booth shook slightly before lowering itself into the ground. _How curious_, Draco thought. He had never taken this way out of the ministry. There was many different and odd entrances. The booth moved right then left then down. After about ten minutes in the dark, it finally went up again.

Draco could see light when he looked up. Soon he could see all of Diagon Alley as the booth door opened. Walking out onto the streets his legs were a bit wobbly from the odd contraption. He quickly made his way to the end of the street where Weasley's Wizarding Wheezes towered over all of the stores.

He continued casually walking until he came upon the window; he looked in silently hoping she would be there. Nothing. The space behind the counter was empty.

Disappointed, he quickly apparated to his bedroom. He sighed as he sat down on his springy bed. _Why are you being such a twit? Nothing is going to happen if you just stalk her work every day! _He silently made a pact to himself that the next time he saw her he would go in and say hello.

Confident in himself he got up and went downstairs to the kitchen. He had bought the home from muggles, so of course there were many muggle appliances throughout the home. It had taken him a few weeks to figure out how it all worked, but he decided that he rather liked what they called a 'refrigerator'.

It also took him a while to learn how to incorporate the muggle appliances with magic. He had learned to make a few simple meals with the combination, but he still had quite a bit to learn about cooking.

He had a few things he still had to learn about living on his own, Draco had had everything handed to him growing up and hadn't learned how to support himself. His mother even had to help him purchase the house. But once he started making a living on being an Auror he didn't want any more financial help.

**. . .**

Aurora woke up with a start. Breathing heavily she touched the side of her face and ran her hand through her long hair. She had had another nightmare, she'd been having them more and more often now.

A few weeks before the war at Hogwarts she had still been at Beauxbatons. The day had gone normally until they came. Death Eaters. She was in her Herbology class when it happened.

They had been learning about healing flowers, the Animore to be exact. It had the ability to cure headaches and minor migraines.

At first she thought it was just a potions explosion, but then she realized the sound was coming from outside the school. All of the other students in her class also took notice and stopped what they were doing to look around for the source of the noise.

But then, large pieces of brick and stone from the school came falling down onto the greenhouse roof. That's when she knew something was definitely wrong. Other students began to scream and panic, she couldn't remember exactly how she reacted because of what happened next.

Just when a huge boulder landed mere feet from her, two Death Eaters entered the greenhouse. They were masked and were both wearing black robes. In that moment her Professor, Professor Morris, stunned the one on the right. Moments after the other started throwing around curses.

All of the students ran out of the building, pushing each other to get out, Aurora also began to run until she noticed her best friend since first year, Georgina, was still standing in shock watching the whole scene.

"Georgina come on!" She yelled.

Georgina turned and ran toward her, but the fallen Death Eater had realized that all of the students were getting away. It all happened so quick…

"Avada Kadavra!" The first Death Eater yelled and the curse hit Georgina in the back.

Georgina fell limp in Aurora's arms as both of the Death Eaters ran from the greenhouse.

"No! No, Georgina, wake up!" She touched her friends face, it was cold as ice. Aurora knew she was gone, but she just didn't want to believe it. Feeling her eyes moisten she held Georgina close to her and began to cry.

After that she had to recognition of what had happened. She woke up in the hospital ward two days later. In the days following the attack she found out that Georgina was not the only casualty. Two other students and one teacher had also been killed in the attack. Along with them, many students were injured.

The Death Eaters had been killed by several of her Professors and fellow students. She was at least glad to know that her friend was avenged.

Tearing herself away from the terrible memory, she looked at her clock. Five a.m. She had to be at work by nine. _I suppose it couldn't hurt to come in early _she thought.

Getting up off her bed she straightened her clothes and walked into the bathroom. She turned on the light and looked in the mirror. Deciding that her hair was a complete mess and yesterday's makeup was smeared across her face, she turned on her shower to clean herself up.

She stripped off her clothes she hopped in the shower and felt the warm water rush over her body. After shampooing and conditioning her hair she turned off the water and grabbed a towel sitting on the toilet.

Wrapping it around herself she stepped out dried herself off. In her towel, she went back to her room to take out her clothes for work. There was never a set uniform or dress code, which Aurora always thought was odd but she went along with it. Putting on her clothes, she put her damp towel in her hair.

Walking back to the bathroom she looked back at the clock, 5:38 am. Yeah, she had a lot of time until work. Taking her time she put on her mascara and eyeliner, and that brown eye shadow she found that was very becoming to her complexion.

Deciding that she was presentable she left the bathroom and grabbed her bag. Since she had extra time she would pick up breakfast at her favorite muggle café. She walked out of her apartment and locked the door.

To make sure she would not be seen by muggles, she apparated in an alley way behind the coffee shop. Walking around to the front she noticed that the sun was just coming up over the horizon, it was a beautiful sight.

She walked in to the nearly empty shop. The woman behind the counter greeted her as she walked up. She ordered a coffee and a muffin.

Aurora stood and looked around the cute little café. It had pink walls with black polka dots and the tables were black and the chairs were a baby blue. She looked at the pictures on the wall of the old couple who owned the coffee shop.

She had heard recently that the old man had passed away, she felt sorry for his wife who must now own the shop on her own.

"Miss? Your coffee is ready." The barista called to her.

She stood up and retrieved her breakfast. Finding a table she sat down and took a sip of her hot drink.

After finishing her muffin, she got up and made her way to work, coffee in hand.

When she arrived at the hidden doors that lead to the Leaky Caldron, she looked around to make sure no muggles were looking and went in.

There was only a few wizards in the bar so early, many of them just passing through like she was. Diagon Alley this early in the morning was quiet, it was an odd sight really. She looked at her watch seven a.m. on the dot. She assumed that George would already be awake.

As she approached the store she could see that his office light was on, so she used her employee key and went in.

"George! It's just me!" She yelled up to him.

"Alright! Chip chop! Off to work with you then open up early!" George yelled back down.

With that she turned on all of the lights in the store and used her wand to turn on the open sign.


	3. Nice to Finally Meet You

**One Week and a Day Later**

Draco woke up to the annoying beeping of his alarm clock. It was Saturday, his one day of the week off from training. Even though he did not want to wake up early, he had a busy day ahead of him.

He felt a little ashamed of himself, he had not stuck with the pact he made with himself, for the past week he had done what he had done before, looked at the woman through the window like a coward. Luckily, she had only noticed him standing there twice.

She probably thought he was stalking her. Great.

He groggily sat up and turned off the alarm. Rubbing his eyes he threw the blankets off of himself and stood up. Making his way to the closet he picked out a pair of black trousers, black button up shirt, and an off-white tie.

After dressing himself he combed through his hair. Deciding he looked presentable he tromped down the stairs, he quickly grabbed a muffin and apparated to the busy streets of London.

He arrived just outside a large department store. In need of more casual clothes, he went inside. There were many muggles shopping inside. The store looked a lot bigger on the inside than on the outside. He quickly made his way to the men's section.

After picking out a few pairs of jeans and a few shirts he went into the dressing room to try them on. He decided to buy two pairs of blue jeans and three V-neck tee shirts.

Making his way to the cash register he noticed a couple women looking at him. Yeah, he knew he was attractive, but he never flaunted it. When he got to the register the teenaged girl behind the counter smiled sweetly at him.

He paid for the clothes with the muggle money he had gotten at Gringotts the day before. Leaving the store he figured he should probably drop the items off at his home. He quickly went into a nearby alleyway and disapparated.

Setting his bags on the kitchen table he apparated to Diagon Alley for his next errand.

. . .

Looking at her watch, Aurora groaned, it was only ten in the morning. All she wanted to do was leave, but Saturday was always their busiest day.

Children were milling around looking in awe of all of the Weasley's products. They actually had to bring in extra help for Saturdays, but she wouldn't exactly call Ron help. He just played with all of the products.

That, or him getting visits from his new fiancé, Hermione Granger. Aurora couldn't count the number of times she had caught them snogging in the stock room. She had to admit though, they were a cute couple.

They were her age and were already engaged, it seemed a bit soon to her but oh well. _Man, I need to get going on this boyfriend thing_, she thought to herself as she propped her chin on her palm. Now that she thought of it, she was the only one working at Weasley's Wizarding Wheezes who didn't have a significant other.

George had Angelina, Ron and Hermione, Ginny and Harry… _This is depressing _she thought. But then she remembered that man that she had seen outside the store a few times. Why hadn't he come in to say hello? _Maybe he's shy,_ she thought.

Either way he must not be that interested, she had only seen him twice, and he was probably just on his way to and from work. But she had never seen him in any of the stores. But it didn't hurt to dream, he was pretty dreamy.

He must work somewhere important, he was always in fancy clothes or a suit. Aurora's family wasn't poor but they certainly weren't rich. Now that she was on her own she didn't have all that much money. But that was just fine with her; she didn't need money to be happy.

For the next few slow and grueling hours Aurora struggled to get through to the end of the day. Today was just not her day, she barely got any sleep because of her nightmares, a little boy knocked over a whole row of stink bomb potions, and to top it all off her only help, Ron, had disappeared with Hermione after lunch.

George seemed to be busy upstairs with new products, or at least that's what she hoped those sounds were, so she didn't want to bother him with her problems. She looked at her watch, five o'clock, one hour left. _Thank god,_ she thought. She just wanted to go home and curl up in her bed.

Her thoughts then drifted to her brother, Ames. She missed him dearly. They hadn't been around each other for most of their teenage years because of the different schools. But they had been very close in their early childhood.

They were only two years apart. But, they really didn't look alike. Ames had dark brown hair and green eyes, and Aurora had blonde hair and blue eyes. He had always been popular with the ladies; he seemed to always have a girlfriend.

Her, on the other hand didn't, she had only barely kissed a man in her sixth year over Christmas break. But, it was only because of the mistletoe above them. It was a boy she barely knew at some Christmas party.

Someone tromping down the stairs to George's office tore her away from her thoughts. She looked toward the doorway, and was surprised to see Angelina instead of George.

"Hi Ang." She said.

Angelina walked up to the counter to her. "Hey, have you been here all day?" She asked.

"Unfortunately yes. Ron left with Hermione sometime after lunch." She explained.

"He did, did he? Well I suppose I will have to inform George of that." Angelina laughed.

Aurora noticed that Angelina's clothes looked recently crumpled. _Ah so that's what was going on up there_, she thought and she snickered to herself.

"Well you can go now if you'd like, I can close up. You look a bit tired." Angelina said.

"Yeah, I didn't sleep very well last night." Aurora grabbed her bag from under the counter.

"I didn't sleep at all last night." Angelina joked as she winked at her.

She laughed and winked back. Brushing a stray hair off her forehead she made her way out the door. Diagon Alley was at its busiest with witches and wizards running errands and children buying their school supplies.

Making her way down the steps she decided that to cheer herself up she would go to Flourish and Blotts to get herself a new book. Aurora had always found pleasure in reading, it took her mind of things.

She maneuvered her way around the crowded streets to the book store. When she finally got there she opened the door and walked in. The store had only a few people in it and the books were towering over them.

Finding an empty row of books she started to browse. _A Witches Guide To Wizards_, _Hmm I don't think so, _she thought. She wondered why there were so many books on romance and dating. Deciding she didn't want an educational book she moved to the fiction section.

Skimming the rows she looked at a few books that looked interesting. There were so many to choose from. She finally decided on one called _The Triumphs and Trials of Veronica Miles._

She found her way back to the register and set her book down. After waiting for a few minutes an old woman came out of the back room to help her.

"Hello dear. Did you find everything alright?" The old woman asked sweetly.

"Yes I did, thank you." She replied.

Aurora paid for the book and went on her way out of the store. The alley was a bit less crowded then before so she easily walked toward her home above Ollivander's.

Not paying attention to where she was going, she suddenly bumped into an unexpecting man. She dropped her book as she turned to apologize.

"Oh! I'm sorry." She said to the man who was now politely picking up her book.

He looked up and offered her the book. "No, it's my fault I-." He stopped.

It was him. The man she had seen outside the store. She felt paralyzed as he stood up holding out her book for her to grab it.

They both stood looking at each other for a moment in silence.

Feeling slightly embarrassed she took her book carefully.

"Thanks, um for picking up my book." She said quietly.

"You're welcome." He said and smiled.

Her cheeks flushed red as she turned away to walk home until he felt his hand on her shoulder.

"Wait." He said.

She turned back around to him.

"You never told me your name." He said.

Shyly she said. "Oh, well it's Aurora."

"Aurora." He said. "I'm Draco." He held his hand out for her to shake.

She took it and smiled back at him. "I believe I've seen you before. Outside the store maybe?"

"Yes, you probably have. I usually walk through Diagon alley on my way to work." He told her.

"And where do you work Mr..?"

"Malfoy. I technically work at the Ministry of Magic, I'm currently training to become an Auror." He replied.

"Really? My brother is an Auror. He's actually on an assignment at the moment."

"There seems to be much more recruits since the war, I suppose there are still many wizards they need to catch."

"Indeed there is." She said sweetly.

"So Aurora is there any chance you would like to have dinner or something with me sometime?" Draco asked and inside winced, afraid that she would say no.

Surprised, she maybe a little too quickly said, "Yes, of course."

He smiled. "How about tomorrow night then?"

"Sure." She said with excitement in her heart.

"And where should I pick you up?"

"Oh, I live in the apartment above Ollivander's. You can pick me up there, just tell him your there for me and he'll let you up." Aurora informed him.

"Alright I'll see you tomorrow night then."

"See you then." She said as he walked a few steps and disapparated. Smiling from ear to ear she made her way to Ollivander's and up to her apartment.

**The Next Day **

Aurora woke up as her alarm blared. For the first time in days she had slept soundly through the night without nightmares. Sitting up, she smiled; tonight she would be going to dinner with the mysterious man she had met the day before. Draco, she had never met anyone with that name before.

She wondered if George knew him, she would have to ask.

Happily putting her clothes on, she walked to the bathroom and brushed her hair. She carefully put on her makeup and smiled in the mirror.

Grabbing her bag she headed off to work. She felt so elated that she had a little spring in her step as she walked out onto Diagon Alley.

She strolled into WWW and put her bag behind the counter. Setting her chin on her palm she thought about Draco. He had such kind grey eyes. She sighed dreamily.

Since it was not yet nine, opening time, she went into the stock room to check on the availability of the products. Making sure no one was secretly snogging in there; she quickly looked through the rows and wrote down all of the items that needed restocking.

Grabbing the note she left the stock room and went up the stairs to George's office. She knocked a few times and waited for a response.

"Come in." She heard George say from the other side of the door.

Still smiling about her date later this evening she let herself in.

"Goodmorning." She said to him.

"Goodmornin' to you." He said as she set the list on his desk.

"Here's a list of the products were low on." She said as she was still smiling.

"Uh, Aurora, are you alright?" He questioned.

"Yes, I'm great actually."

He bit the end of his pen. "Is there something you'd like to tell me?"

"Well… I don't know." She giggled a bit.

"Ok something is definitely wrong with you. Did you have a little 'fun' last night perhaps?" He asked jokingly.

"No, but I may have some fun tonight." She winked.

"My, my, my. Who is the lucky guy then eh?" He flirted.

"Oh… no one." She teased.

"Come on tell me." He demanded.

"Well I only met him just yesterday."

"Who is this mysterious man?" George questioned.

"He said his name is Draco."

As she said that he gripped his pen tightly and his face turned white.

"And what was his last name did he say?" George said while he gritted his teeth.

"I think he said it was Malfoy." She said, curious about Georges strange behavior.

He sighed heavily. "You certainly will not be having any 'fun' with that man."

"Why not?" Aurora asked.

"Just don't go with him… please. For your own sake don't." He asked trying to hold back his anger.

"Why the hell not?" She asked starting to get upset.

"He used to be a Death Eater, if he knew you were muggle born he would never speak to you again, his own father is in Azkaban for being a Death Eater! He's not a decent man." George warned her.

"You're wrong! He's going to be an Auror. All he's been is kind to me! It doesn't matter what his father did, they are not the same man." She protested.

"Fine, do what you want but don't tell me that I didn't warn you about that slimy ferret." George said, disgusted.

"I will prove you wrong George Weasley. He is a decent man."

Now very upset, she left the room and tried not to slam the door behind her. She stomped down the stairs in anger. When she got back to the counter all her anger was forgotten when she saw that something was left on the window sill outside.

A rose. She walked over to the window and opened it. Lightly picking it up she noticed there was a small card beneath it. It read:

-_Draco Malfoy_

She smiled. He must've left it here while she was arguing with George.

Closing the window she smelled the delicate red rose and went back to the counter. She placed the rose on top of the counter where she could look at it all day. She snickered; she had already proven George wrong.

. . .

Continuing on his way to training, Draco smiled. Placing the rose on the window through which he had looked at her for days was a brilliant idea.

He also knew exactly where to take her for dinner, a small restaurant in a wizarding village outside of Surrey. It had been the place his parents had their first date.

The thought of his father still stung a bit. Draco would not be able to tell him about this beautiful woman he met, he wouldn't be able to tell him about the date either. It will take a long time to get used to his father's absence.

But, of course, he always had his mother. The mother who adored him. He knew that he should probably visit her soon, perhaps tomorrow. She was fairly lonely without him and his father. Sure, she had the servants and house elves, but they were not family.

Someday, Draco hoped he would have his own family.


	4. The Unexpected

**First of all I just want to say I am so sorry for the extremely long time since I have updated. There is no excuse. The second thing I should say is that I know things have been moving pretty slowly and there have been rather short chapters but I'm fixing it up and lengthening the chapters. And I'd like to make it clear that Aurora is not fat, just curvy lol.**

Aurora sighed as she lightly twirled the most beautiful red rose she had ever set her eyes upon. All day she had been daydreaming about her date later that evening. Where would he take her? What would she wear? Something fancy? Something casual? After minutes of contemplating she decided on classy, but casual.

After their little argument earlier George had not come down from his office. She didn't like fighting with him but how could he judge Draco so quickly? Knowing that George was still having a rather hard time lately she didn't want to further irritate him.

Business was slow, but being a Sunday, it was to be expected. It was a less exciting job than she had expected, but considering the fact that there were currently not many jobs open she was glad to work there.

The hours seemed to tick by slowly. Every minute seemed like an eternity to Aurora. The only thing that helped her pass the time was demonstrating the fun tricks and potions at the store. Occasionally these demonstrations would go wrong and she would end up with an embarrassing discoloration in her skin from a new product called Chameleon Concoction which caused the skin to blend in with everything around it. There were still a few flaws in it.

While in between customers Aurora thought to herself, what if George is right about Draco? I mean what did she really know about him anyway, they had only just met. Although she did trust George's judgment he did seem to have a bad experience or two with Draco, so he may possibly have a certain grudge against him. But she certainly wouldn't bring it up over dinner.

When the clock finally chimed 4 o'clock Aurora quickly grabbed her bag and went out the door. Diagon Alley was rather quiet that day so she made it to her little apartment quickly. Locking the door behind her she went straight to the small closet in her bedroom. At first nothing came to mind that would be appropriate for the date. _I could always try to use some glamour spells on my clothes_, she thought as she rummaged through her drawers for undergarments that were date appropriate. It didn't really matter what her panties looked like because she wasn't going to let him seem them tonight anyway.

Finally she decided on a dark blue dress that wasn't too form fitting but tight enough to give it a sexier look. I had a belt around her middle and a V-neck, the sleeves just covered her shoulders. She headed towards the bathroom to fix her makeup and hair. Using a glamour spell her hair fell into cute waves that cascaded down her shoulders. Draco didn't seem to be much taller than her so she decided to stay safe and wear flats.

Now all she needed to do was wait for him to show up. As she thought about it he didn't say a specific time that he would be there, it sounded a bit strange but she didn't mind waiting a while. Grabbing the book that she had bought the other day she sat down on the couch and started reading.

. . .

Tying a tie had been a skill Draco had known since he was a child. Being in a rather wealthy family meant that he had worn them fairly often, not to mention it was part of the dress code at Hogwarts. But tonight he felt like he couldn't get it right. Every time it was too lopsided, too messy, or the color of the tie just wasn't right.

He had decided on his usual black button down shirt and dress pants but he felt that his usual white tie would be too boring for a date. He had many different colored ties in his rather large closet, but white had been his favorite. Looking through almost all of the colors only the navy blue tie agreed with his taste. After several attempts he decided that he looked acceptable.

Just as he was about to pop out of the room to Diagon Alley his owl, Lucille, flew in the room with two separate letters. The bird flew into her cage and dropped the letters into Draco's hand. He looked at the letters to see that one was from his Mum and the other from his friend Ames. Curious, Ames had only just contacted him over a week ago. Assuming Ames's letter was more urgent he opened it first.

_D.M._

_Hello mate. Sorry to alarm you with such close together letters. Theres nothing else to do here now except write. Were at a standstill right now with the death eaters here. They're hiding somewhere but we haven't been able to find where to flush them out. Tricky these eastern death eaters are. I suppose that by the time you graduate from training we'll still be here and you can join me on this little mission. Sorry I probably won't be able to make it to the grad ceremony. I'm sure the Auror office will get you on some sort of mission right away they seem to be needing more and more Aurors to catch the left over death eaters. They have definitely upped the ante in Auror training, they obviously want to lose as less Aurors as possible if you know what I mean._

_A.A_

Surprised and relieved that nothing was seriously wrong Draco set the letter on his table side and debated whether he had enough time to read his mother's seemingly long letter and reply to it. He didn't give Aurora a specific time that he would show up so he went ahead and opened his mother's letter.

_Dear Draco,_

_How are you darling? I haven't heard from you in a while and I'm getting worried about you. Is your training becoming too straining for you dear? I have worried since you started that you could get hurt or it would be too stressful for you but you seem to be doing just fine with it. I should tell you that I have received word from the Wizengamot that soon we will be allowed to visit your father on a half a yearly basis, if you would like. It has been nearly a year since we have seen him and I would like to speak with him and I am sure that he would like to speak with you. I know it's a lot to think about and I will give you time to decide. In lighter matters I am doing some remodeling on the Manor. I hope you come and see it soon. _

_ Narcissa Malfoy_

The possibility of being able to see and talk to his father was exhilarating, he didn't think that he would be able to see him until his time in Azkaban was up. Of course he was going to go see him, yes his father had done some terrible things but he was still his father. Suddenly in an even better mood than he was before he set his mother's letter down deciding to reply to it when he returned home he popped into Diagon Alley next to Flourish and Blotts.

The streets were still bustling with witches and wizards picking up whatever they needed. Making his way through the crowd he noticed that the well-being of everyone since the war had significantly increased, no one was afraid to leave their homes or stores anymore. All was seemingly well in the wizarding world.

Arriving at Ollivander's Wand Shop he looked around. It had looked the same as the day he came in to buy his first wand. The wand he had now was specially crafted in Ireland, it had taken him a while to get used to the new wand. The old man came up to the counter and asked inquisitively, "What can I help you with today, Mr. Malfoy?"

"I'm actually here to see Aurora." He stated, he was not expecting Ollivander to remember him. Perhaps he too had a secret grudge against the Malfoy family.

"Oh, yes she said someone would be coming tonight. Her apartment is up the stairs and the only door on the left." Ollivander said cautiously, unsure if he should trust the young man with the woman he had been housing for the past year.

"Thank you." Draco said as he made his way through the tall stacks to the carpeted steps leading to the upstairs. Reaching the top of the stairs he looked to the right to see a short hallway with a door at the end, most likely Ollivander's living quarters. Then looking to the right he saw the solitary door which obviously was the door to Aurora's apartment. Slowly he made his way to her door.

He stopped short before he knocked on the door. What if this doesn't go well? What if George or one of the other Weasley's had told her all about him and now she changed her mind? _I guess there's only one way to find out,_ he thought. Hesitantly he knocked on the door three times. There was no answer for a few seconds. Right as he began to get anxious about changing her mind, Aurora opened the door. _She looks beautiful,_ he thought.

"Hi." Was all he could say as he looked at her in all her beauty.

"Hi." She said breathlessly as she looked at the man who had been on her mind all day. He looked very dashing in all his fancy clothing.

"Are you ready?" Draco shyly asked her. He still couldn't take his eyes off her. She had to be the most stunning woman he had ever seen.

"Yep." She said quickly as she stepped out of her apartment. She quickly said a locking charm on her door and looked back at him. Even though she still had no idea where they were going tonight she knew by how he was dressed that it would be fancy and expensive. No one had ever spent a lot of money on her, her family had some money but not enough to shower her in fancy things. But now that her parents were gone it didn't matter whether they were rich or poor, she would rather have them with her.

Draco held out his hand to her for side-along apparition. Hesitantly she took it. With a pop and a squeezing sensation they were standing somewhere that Aurora had never been or seen before. The restaurant they had arrived at seemed to be in the middle of nowhere. It was surrounded by countryside, it looked small and kind of run down, where did he take me to? Definitely hidden from the muggle world, she thought.

"Where exactly are we?" She asked him curiously.

"Surrey. Don't worry the outside is enchanted to look like that so muggles aren't tempted to wander in." He explained.

"Oh I see." She said still hand in hand with Draco. He led her to the door and opened it for her. She was very unprepared for what she saw inside. The restaurant was exquisite, it screamed class. The carpet was a crimson red and the walls a light gold color. The tables and chairs looked to belong in the queen's palace and not a restaurant. There were nicely dressed elves walking around carrying giant trays of the most elegant food she had ever seen.

"Wow." She said as she took in all the smells and sights around her.

"It quite the place isn't it?" Draco asked rhetorically as what looked like a host or waiter came up to them.

"Ah, Mr. Malfoy what a pleasure to see you again. And what a fine lady you have with you tonight." The man said gallantly.

"It's nice to see you again too Peter." Draco said politely to the man. After their quick exchange of words the man lead them to a table next to a giant fountain that had water that was strangely scented by lilacs.

"This is such a lovely place." Aurora said still looking around and taking all the sights in.

"Yes, my parents used to come here all the time and would occasionally take me with them. That is how the host knew me." He explained as menus suddenly appeared in front of them.

_Thank goodness this is all in English!_ She thought to herself.

Looking at the menu she recognized quite a few things that she liked, god knows anything that came out of the kitchens here would be nothing but high quality and delicious. Deciding on a spinach and chicken ravioli she wondered how they would place their orders. As if answering the question in her head a cute little elf dressed in a waiters outfit came to their table.

"Hello sir and madam, have you decided on what you would like to order this evening?" He sweetly asked.

Draco replied first, "Yes, I would like the tomato bisque soup and the filet mignon. Medium." The little elf quickly wrote his order down in a little booklet.

"And I'll have the spinach and chicken ravioli." Aurora said to the waiter as he scribbled down her order and popped back into the kitchen.

Anxious to learn more about this mysterious Draco she asked him, "So you said you're in Auror training when do you graduate?"

"Next month actually, I'm interested to see what is in store for me afterwards. I will probably be assigned to a mission right away or soon after graduation." Draco said, he was surprised at how at ease she was with him. Many girls that he had met in the past didn't say too much or were way too forward with him.

"Yes, the Auror department seems quite busy lately. My brother is an Auror and he was put on a mission almost immediately after he graduated. He's still on that mission now. I know he writes as often as he can but I still miss him very much." Aurora carefully explained as their food suddenly appeared onto the plates in front of them. It reminded her of how food would appear at the tables at Beauxbatons.

"What is your brother's name? Perhaps I know him." Draco offered. He had known most of the Aurors in training from the last graduating class, he also knew quite a few that were on missions. He had dueled with many of them before they graduated, most of them had kicked his butt but that was only because they were far more experienced.

"His names is Ames Adams." Aurora said, doubtfully thinking that it would ring a bell. Ames kept to himself usually and only had a few close friends.

Almost choking on his food in surprise that he was on a date with his best mate's sister he asked for confirmation, "Ames Adams is your brother?"

"Yes, do you know him?" She asked curiously as she took a careful bite of her food as it was still relatively hot.

"He's actually one of my best mates, we met in training and he still writes me fairly often." Draco cautiously told her. This little piece of information could completely ruin the relationship that had just barely started. He didn't want that to happen.

"Well I was definitely not expecting that." Aurora said as she lightly laughed. "I'm not quite sure what he'd think of you being here with me."

"He would probably kick my arse like he did in training." Draco said grudgingly.

"Well it's not really up to him who I date, and it's not like you knew that I was his sister. He'll get over it eventually." She said, truly not caring if her brother approved or not, there was definitely something about this Draco that she was drawn to.

"He could be upset at first but I'm sure it's just a brotherly thing." Draco said, since he didn't have any brothers or sisters he wouldn't know what it's like to feel protective over a sibling. When he was younger he had always secretly wished that he did have a brother or sister to play with or just for some company.

"Yeah, he has been rather protective since our parents died in the war." Suddenly thinking of her parents made her feel sad about how she didn't even know how they came to their deaths. All they had known was that they died from the killing curse by a random death eater that had invaded their home.

"Oh, I'm sorry." A feeling of regret came over him as he knew that it had been death eaters that had killed her parents. How could she accept him if she knew his past and about his father? Even if he had changed for the better.

"It's alright. I know that the death eater responsible was under the thumb of You-Know-Who. I know that most of them were." She explained. Forgiving the group of people that had killed her parents was difficult but necessary for closure.

"I see."

"So what are your parents like?" Aurora asked innocently, genuinely curious to know more about Draco's family.

"Well I don't have any siblings, my mother is a kind and rather protective woman, and my father is away at the time." He explained not really wanting to discuss his father further.

"Did you like being an only child?" Aurora asked, sensing that his father was probably an extremely sensitive subject with Draco. Inside she wondered what had happened with his father. Were his parents divorced? Did he not know where his father was?

"Not really it was always rather lonely. I had wanted a sibling but my parents never fulfilled the wish." Draco chuckled a bit at his remark.

Noticing that they had both finished their meals, the little elf came back and gave Draco the bill. Without hesitation he took it and paid the bill, and also gave the elf a little tip for his service. Getting up from the table Draco took her hand and walked her out of the restaurant.

It was dark outside and the stars were out and shining brightly. The landscape around them was only seen in the light of the full moon.

"The stars look beautiful tonight." Aurora said as they stood outside hand in hand.

"Yes, they do." Draco agreed with her. She looked even more gorgeous in the light of the moon and the stars; he thought but was too shy to tell her so.

"Are you ready?" He turned to her and asked.

She nodded and smiled at him. In a moment they were back in the hallway at the upstairs of Ollivander's. Aurora became suddenly nervous; she knew what happened usually after first dates. She wanted to kiss him but what if she messed it up? Or what if he wanted more than just a simple kiss? It felt like the longest time as they walked to her door.

Draco wasn't quite sure what to do as they came to a stop at her door. He also knew the expectations of the end of a first date. But he didn't want her to do something she didn't want to do. He turned to her and looked at her anxious face. _Oh just do it you git_ he thought to himself. Slowly he leaned down a bit and closed the distance between them. His lips slightly brushed hers.

"Aurora, is that you?" Ollivander called from downstairs interrupting their almost first kiss.

Aurora sighed and pulled away from Draco. "Yes it's me!" She called back down to him. Looking back at Draco she smiled up at him.

"Goodnight then Aurora." He said politely to her, obviously not going to embarrass himself by trying to kiss her again.

"Can I see you again Draco?" She asked him sweetly.

"Of course."

"You can come by my work sometime if you'd like." She suggested to him, there's nothing she'd like more than to have him come by like Hermione did for Ron. It would be nice to have someone to kiss in the back room.

"Sure." He said smiling.

"Great. Well goodnight." She said finally and went into her apartment. Leaning up against the door she sighed. The date could not have gone better. Going into her room she went into the bathroom and washed off all her makeup.

As she got ready for bed she thought back on Draco almost kissing her. He wanted to kiss her! It gave her such a rush to think that he actually wanted her. She wished that Ollivander hadn't rudely interrupted. Guess she would have to wait until next time to experience his kiss.


	5. Owls

**Hello all of my lovely readers. Hope you've liked the story so far. Please, please review!**

**Two Days Later**

Having only one day of the week off took a major toll on Aurora. As she woke up on Tuesday morning she thought about her day off the day before. Mondays were heaven sent after six days of waking up early and dealing with George pulling pranks on her and children breaking things in the store. Yes, she did love her job but sometimes it really got on her nerves.

Practically all she did was catch up on sleep and run errands. Living alone had its advantages; you only had to buy food for one person. Aurora had always bought her food at muggle grocery stores; it had always brought back good memories of her mother taking her there every other week. And if she was lucky that particular week she would get a treat such as chocolate or some other sugary candy.

While indulging on muggle television she thought about the night before with Draco. Would he want to see her again? She thought the date had gone well. There wasn't really any way for her to contact him, she didn't have her own owl and she didn't like using Ollivander's owl. The nasty bird always bit her and wouldn't take her letters to the right person or wouldn't take it anywhere at all.

She knew that Draco had an owl because he said that he frequently contacted her brother, Ames. There was no way to know how he would take knowing that his best mate was dating his little sister. Probably not well. Perhaps Draco would send her a letter or visit her at her work. George may not approve of that but he was usually always in his office with Angelina or experimenting with new products so he might not even notice he was there.

But, today she did have work. Stepping into the shower she thought about all the things she knew she would have to do today, stock the shelves, check the availability of the products, and ring up the customers purchases. She sighed as she rinsed out the last of the conditioner in her light blonde hair.

After getting dressed and putting on makeup and drying her hair she made her way out the door to walk to work. Ollivander was already organizing his shelves upon shelves of wands. He was nearing the busiest month of the year, August. Even though it was still June children were already coming in to buy their first wands for school.

Nearing Wizards Wizarding Wheezes she noticed that George's office light was on. Odd, he usually didn't come down for work for another hour. Aurora was usually the one to turn on all the lights and open the doors for business. Maybe George had stayed up late working on new products and simply fell asleep right at his desk.

As she walked into the store she looked around and turned on the lights. Everything seemed to be in order and in its right place as usual. She set her bag by the cashier's station and went up the stairs to check on the George situation.

After knocking on the door three times Aurora waited for a response for a good twenty seconds she figured it was safe to go in and check on him. Slowly she opened the large wooden door and peeked in. George was passed out in his chair with his head resting on his hands on the table. There was a large, empty bottle of Firewhiskey sitting on the desk. It was known throughout the Weasley family and her that George had a slight drinking problem after the death of his brother, Fred. It wasn't as bad as it was before; she used to go to work to see him like that almost every day. No one but Angelina really said anything to him. Aurora figured it wasn't her place to.

Slowly backing away she closed the door silently and went back down the stairs to continue with her duties. The store didn't officially open until ten a.m., but she always had to be there at seven to make sure everything was in line.

. . .

At five o'clock in the evening the Ministry was not surprisingly bustling with all sorts of people. Draco had just finished a very straining day of training, on this particular day they had been practicing spells to temporarily make your opponent physically disabled. He was just starting to regain feeling in his left leg; thanks to one Harry Potter he wasn't able to use it for half the day. But he did get him back by temporarily paralyzing him.

After leaving the ministry he decided to go straight home. There were a few things he had to take care of then he was going to send a letter to Aurora. He hadn't wanted to visit her at her work because of George and possibly Ron being there. They probably wouldn't let him on the premises. He would have to explain that to her as carefully as he could. He had changed for the better but the only ones that decided to realize it was Hermione and Harry.

He had had a discussion with Hermione one day after Auror training. She was at the ministry applying for a job as a secretary in the Auror department. No doubt to be closer to her fiancé, Ron. They had make small talk at first but then it became more serious. They talked about his father going to Azkaban and him and his mother getting no time whatsoever.

Hermione had said that she didn't blame him anymore for his actions. She knew that the way he had been brought up that it was expected of him to be that way. They didn't have any hard feelings towards each other anymore and were quite friendly to each other. Ron, of course did not approve of this friendship, which did cause them to fight but in the end he could tell Hermione had won because she still talked to him occasionally when she saw him at the Ministry. Secretly he wondered if he would be receiving an invitation to the wedding.

Arriving home Draco went up to his office and loosened his tie. His owl was asleep in her cage; unfortunately she would have to be awoken soon. Sitting down in his plush office chair Draco took out a pen and paper. He wasn't quite sure how to start the letter. He knew he wanted to say that he wanted to speak with her this evening but he didn't want it to sound too urgent.

_Aurora,_

_Sorry that I haven't contacted you since our date, I have been rather busy with training. I wanted to ask you if I could perhaps speak with you tonight. There is something I should probably tell you about. Don't worry it is nothing urgent._

_Draco_

He carefully folded it up and slid it in an envelope. After sealing it and addressing it he opened the door to Lucille's cage. The bird instantly awoke and saw the letter in his hand. Flying out of the cage she snatched it from his hand and flew out the window.

Content that the letter would reach its destination Draco went down into his living room and sat down for a little light reading about certain forest creatures he could possibly encounter on a mission. To be honest he was a little scared of the mission he would be assigned to. It could be rather dangerous for him if he didn't know exactly what he was up against. He was also afraid that he would have to leave right away for a long time. He had only just begun a relationship with a woman that he could actually see himself with.

What if she didn't want to wait for him to return? They didn't have deep rooted feelings toward each other yet. She could decide that it would be best if she were with a man with a less dangerous job. Because he knew that she knew the type of peril he could be in, her brother is an example of it. Draco didn't want her to have to worry about her brother and him.

Hoping that that wouldn't be the case in this scenario he continued to flip through the book with moving pictures of creatures that he was familiar with and ones that he was not. He had received this book from his mother while she was cleaning out the vast library at the manor. She had been filling her time lately with things such as cleaning and remodeling.

Suddenly he heard the fluttering of wings upstairs. _That was awful quick,_ Draco thought. Setting the book down he quickly loped up the stairs and went in his office. Lucille was perched on the window sill with a letter in her beak. As he took it from her he noticed the handwriting on the letter was extremely neat and beautiful. Just like the woman who had written it.

He carefully unfolded the letter as if it were extremely fragile.

_Draco,_

_We may speak tonight. Where would you like to meet?_

_Aurora_

He smiled. Perhaps tonight he could finish what he started at her doorstep without any interruptions. Draco thought about how frustrated he was at the old wand maker for ruining the moment between them. He quickly took out another piece of paper and scribbled down his address asking her to meet him at his home. He handed the note to his owl and she flew away.

Knowing she would reply rather quickly he sat down in his chair and fiddled with a pen. He hadn't kissed a woman since Pansy Parkinson; she had always been unusually pushy and sexual back in their seventh year. Being an ignorant teenager he had easily given her his virginity. They had only had had sex that one time, but he wished he hadn't. It hadn't meant anything to her. He had thought that she cared about him but she just liked the fact that he was rich and came from a pureblood family. He wished he would've saved that important piece of intimacy for someone that cared about him the same way he cared about her. But it was too late for that now. His innocence was gone and he couldn't get it back.

He hadn't seen Pansy since the final battle; he assumed that she had gone into hiding with the rest of her family. He really didn't care if he ever saw her again. All she had done was use him. Before he could continue thinking about the past, Lucille flew back into his office and dropped a small piece of paper onto his desk with Aurora's beautiful penmanship on it.

_I'll be there around seven. See you then._

Perhaps Aurora could end up being someone who he would want to be that intimate with. He didn't know what her history with other men was yet. She seemed rather shy at first; maybe she didn't have a lot of previous boyfriends. He hoped that she hadn't made a mistake like he had.

Pansy was never tender or loving. It was always just physical with her, she never told him she loved him or even that she really liked him. That one time in the empty boy's dormitories was just one of her schemes to win him over. Afterwards he realized she couldn't have been a virgin before, he didn't even hurt her. Nothing happened like it should have. She had lied to him. Thinking about it was unpleasant for Draco; his only experience with love wasn't even love.

. . .

Aurora looked out the window watching Draco's owl fly away. She wondered what he could possibly want to talk about, nothing had really happened between them. Maybe he wanted to tell her that he didn't really like her and they shouldn't continue seeing each other. She hoped not. Draco was someone that she could really see herself with. She had no idea what George was warning her of, he was a sweet guy.

That day George had not come downstairs to the shop, he must've still been feeling the effects of the whole bottle of Firewhiskey he drank. Angelina came by later that day but Aurora told her about what she had seen and Angelina left. She really doesn't like when he does that.

Turning to look at her lonely apartment Aurora sighed. She had only just realized that she had been very alone for the last year; she hadn't been out on a date or gone out with friends in a long time. The only place she had really gone was work. Draco had already shown her that there was a world outside her little apartment.

She was interested to see where Draco lived, she knew that he had quite a bit of money considering the clothes he wore and that he was able to get into Auror training. Her brother had to scrape up money for two years before he could even enroll. Getting into Auror training had been a huge deal for Ames, especially after their parent's untimely deaths.

For the next forty five Aurora ate dinner and read the Daily Prophet. These days it was always filled with the latest news about Harry Potter and his girlfriend Ginny Weasley. Aurora knew that the rumors and gossip about them was not true because she actually knew them, she was starting to become pretty good friends with Ginny. Occasionally she would come and help out with the shop when Ron wasn't able to. She wouldn't have friends at all if it weren't for her job, all of her friends she met working there. But her best friend would have to be George she had known him the longest and he was always there for her when she needed him.

When the clock said six forty-five Aurora got up from her couch and left her apartment. Looking at the address she could tell that it was quite a ways away from where she was, it was fairly close London. _Guess I'll have to use the floo network, _she thought. Going down the stairs she could hear Ollivander helping a little boy find his first wand. She stepped into the fireplace in the back of the shop, grabbed a handful of the green power and clearly stated his address.

. . .

Draco was writing a letter to his mother when he was startled by a loud thump coming from downstairs. Afraid that someone had tried to break into his home he raced down the stairs but was surprised to see Aurora bushing dust off her pants. _Must've opted to use the floo network_, he thought to himself as he tried not to chuckle at how disheveled she looked after traveling.

"I wasn't expecting you to come in through my fireplace." Draco said and couldn't help but laugh a little bit.

"Well I didn't know how to get here any other way." Aurora replied as she laughed.

"It's quite the way to make an entrance." He said as he walked up to her. She had on a black and white scarf on with a cute green sweater. It made her look even more beautiful than she already was, he thought.

"It is, isn't it?" She said as her heart started beating faster as he approached her. "What did you want to discuss with me?" Asked Aurora as she sat down on a near couch.

"Oh that." He started as he sat next to her on the plush leather couch that he brought from the Manor when he moved out. "First I want to ask, has George ever said anything about me to you?" He nervously asked.

"Yes, he did actually, he told me that I shouldn't trust you… that you were on You-Know-Who's side." She stated anxiously while wringing her hands.

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you the other night but it's not just something you can come out and say. It is true that my family was associated with Voldemort. My father mostly. My mother didn't want any part of it and didn't want me a part of it, but seeing that my father was one of his followers I got sucked into it. I didn't want to fight on his side, I was afraid he would kill me or my family if I didn't." He explained to her as she looked slightly scared of him.

"So where is your father?" She asked quietly but curiously.

Draco swallowed hard. "He's in Azkaban, and will be for the next nineteen years. It's where he deserves to be."

"Oh, I see." She said quietly while looking down at her hands which she was still fiddling with.

"I'm not like that anymore, I'm trying to get over my past and be a better person than I was. I know I did bad things that I shouldn't have."

"I'm not going to judge you for who you used to be, Draco." She said as she put her hand on his. His hands were cold.

"Thank you." Draco replied as he noticed her hand on his. He took her hand and held it. "Could we maybe talk about a lighter subject?" He politely asked.

Aurora lightly laughed and said, "Yes. How was your training today?"

"The same as usual, extremely tiring. I'm very happy its almost over." He said smiling up at her.

"Is it every day a week?" She asked curiously.

"No, we get one day off, Sundays. It's not nearly enough."

"I only get one day a week off too, Mondays. Sometimes I think George works me to hard." She said while laughing.

"You have such a cute laugh." The thought slipped out of Draco's mouth. His face flushed with embarrassment.

"Thanks." She said as she too blushed.

Draco looked up at her slowly and she was still looking down at her hands. With his hand he lifted her chin and slightly leaned in and closed the distance between them. His lips covered hers lightly for a moment then he pressed them down on hers. After another moment he slightly opened his mouth and she did the same. Soon his tongue was sliding against her in an almost passionate kiss.

Aurora was taken aback by his sudden kiss. It was beautiful and sweet. She had never experienced anything like it. After a short while they both pulled away and smiled. Shyly she looked down at their hands.

"Say, would you like to watch a movie, with me they're like moving pictures that form a story." Draco explained to her.

"I know what a movie is, my parents were muggles. I watch them all the time." She told him, surprised that he actually knew what they were. Most witches and wizards had no idea what a movie or DVD was. She had to enchant her apartment building just so she could watch them.

After picking out a movie Aurora sat down next to Draco again and put her head on his shoulder. It seemed so normal to sit and watch a movie with a woman, Draco thought. He could definitely get used to having her around all the time. Throughout the movie he held Aurora's hand and would occasionally squeeze her hand.

As the end credits rolled he looked over to see that she had fallen asleep on his shoulder. Deciding that he should let her sleep, he carefully got up, trying not to wake her and got a pillow and a blanket in a nearby closet.

Turning off the light he went up to his room, changed into his pajamas and went to sleep.

. . .

Draco awoke to his alarm clock shouting at him to wake up. He rubbed his eyes and got ready for the day. Only after making his way downstairs to make himself breakfast did he remember that Aurora was asleep on his couch.

As he got closer he noticed how cute her face looked while sleeping, her lower lip was pouted out and her hands were up by her face.

He put his hand on her shoulder and shook it tenderly. "Aurora." He whispered in her ear. She slowly opened her eyes and yawned. Pulling herself up she looked around the room and rubbed her eyes.

"I fell asleep during the movie didn't I?" She asked as if already knowing.

"Yes, you did." He said and smiled at her.

"What time is it?"

"A little after six. I figured you would need to go home and get ready for work. I just couldn't wake you last night you looked exhausted."

"I was, and I always seem to fall asleep during movies." She explained.

Getting up she straightened out her clothes and brushed her hair out of her face while Draco poured himself a cup of tea.

"Draco?"

"Yeah?" Draco replied as he looked over to her.

"I'm gonna have to go get ready for work, will you write me later?" She asked hopefully.

"Of course." He walked over to her slowly. He held her in an embrace and kissed her lips softly. When he released her she apparated home.

. . .

Aurora rested her chin on her palm and sighed. She couldn't stop thinking about her first kiss with Draco. Kissing him had been better than she had imagined it would be.

It was still early morning and the shop hadn't opened yet. George was still in his flat above the store and she was all by herself. Her mind drifted off and she began to daydream. She thought about what life with Draco would be like. Even though they had only just begun dating she could see being with him for a long time.

Suddenly she heard George's footsteps coming down the stairs. He appeared in the shop a moment later.

"Good morning." He said as he came sweeping into the room.

"You seem to be in a great mood." Aurora said while smiling at him.

"I couldn't feel better. And how are you doing this fine morning miss Aurora?" He asked as he stood on the other side of the cashier stand.

"I am great."

"I forgot to ask, how did you date with the ferret go?" He asked mockingly.

"It went very well actually, I saw him again last night." She stated matter of factly.

"Oh did you? And what did you kiddies do?" His mood starting to change a little.

"We watched a movie and I stayed over."

"Stayed over? You slept with him?"

"No! I fell asleep on the couch." She quickly explained to him, not wanting to anger her friend.

"Sure, sure. That's what they all say."

"If you must know I am still a virgin." She admitted.

"Well then. If you insist." He teased.


	6. What You Can't Do

_**Oh my. I am so sorry for taking 2 months to update. But this summer I will make it up to you! PLEASE review! Remember this fanfic is rated M for a reason.**_

**June 10****th**** 1999 (Three Days Later)**

Aurora bustled around a corner avoiding a group of children crowded around the new finally error-free Chameleon Concoctions that George had released for sale that very day. Every worker was in the store that day considering the fact that it was Saturday and the release of a new product. And no one, not even Ron would be leaving early that day.

Arriving back behind the counter at the register Aurora began to ring up customer after customer until she couldn't feel her fingers pressing the buttons on the register anymore. The store was busier than she had ever seen it. Hoards of children were coming in by the moment and all of them were buying things. Already there had been several mishaps where some kid knocked something over.

It was noon which meant Aurora wasn't even half way done with her shift and she was already exhausted.

"Aurora! Are there anymore Skiving Snackboxes in the store room?" Ginny asked from ten feet away obviously in a hurry to restock the shelves. _Did we really run out of those that quick?_ She thought.

"There's a whole load of them in the back to the right. You should see them right away." Aurora responded quickly. She felt proud that the rest of the workers looked to her for everything, she felt like she actually mattered and was needed at the store.

Ginny quickly disappeared into the store room to look for the product. George, being George was sauntering around the store helping children with their purchases and demonstrating products. He was dressed in a purple suit and wearing a matching top hat. Whenever a new product was released he made sure to go all out with his outfits.

Getting into a pace with ringing up customers she began thinking to herself. _I wonder why Draco hasn't sent me an owl since when I stayed over? _ She hoped he was just busy. Already she was starting to have feelings for the man. He was so nice and sweet she couldn't imagine why George would still have a grudge against him. The other day she was speaking to Hermione about it and learned that she and Harry forgave him for his behavior when they were young but the others hadn't.

For the past few weeks she had been thinking about buying herself an owl. It would be rather convenient, she could reply to Ames's letters whenever she wanted and she wouldn't have to wait for Draco to write her. But owls were slightly expensive and she didn't have a lot of money to begin with. _Maybe I'll save some money here and there and eventually I'll have enough to buy one without a problem._ She thought.

Soon enough it was time for her break. Going into the break room she saw George and Ron socializing. Ron looked rather upset with George because he had a mean look on his face and George was laughing hysterically. Ginny was eating her lunch at the table hardly paying attention to the boys; apparently the joke wasn't towards her.

"What is so funny?" Aurora asked as she sat down on a nearby couch.

"Nothing." Ron stated under his breath.

"Little Ronniekins is upset because he still can't accept the fact that his best mate his shagging Ginny." George laughed as he explained.

"I don't know why you think it's so funny, I'm your sister too!" Ginny butted in angrily. "And we aren't having sex."

"Ha! Yeah right. I have simply closed my mind to it, it is what is and there's nothing I can do about it." George said.

"We haven't!" Ginny argued.

"You better not have." Ron grouchily said.

"I don't get upset because you're shagging my best friend!" Ginny spat back.

"That's different, we're engaged." Ron said as he crossed his arms.

"Oh and you think Harry and I will never be engaged?"

"You still can't have sex until you're married." Ron decided.

"I can do whatever I want."

"Not my best friend!"

Ginny rolled her eyes, got up and threw away the remainder of her lunch. She left the break room and slammed the door on the way out. The whole time George was still snickering to himself.

"Sorry you had to hear that Aurora." Ron apologized.

"It's alright I'm sure my brother would've reacted the same."

"He might actually." George stated.

"What do you mean?" Aurora asked.

"Well word around the street is your little boyfriend is friends with your bother from Auror training." He smirked.

"How would you even know that?" She said with a bit of attitude.

"Harry told me."

Aurora rolled her eyes. "When time comes I will tell Ames and he probably won't react to well but he can deal with it."

"Wait a minute, since when do you have a boyfriend?" Ron asked curiously.

"Since about a week ago." She explained.

"Who is he then?" Ron asked now more interested in the conversation.

"Well little Ronnie there's another thing you may not be able to accept." George teased at him.

"Just tell me who the bloke is." Ron insisted.

"None other than the little ferret, Draco." George stated with attitude. At this point he for the most part accepted it, but he definitely would not tell Aurora or Ron that.

"What? You can't date him!" Ron said with finality.

"Why not? He is a perfect gentleman and has put the past behind him. Maybe you should too."

"That I will not. Do you know all the things he's done?"

"She is aware, I informed her." George said.

"You still can't date him." Ron insisted.

"I'm done with this conversation. My break is over anyways." Aurora said as she left the room to go back to work.

How dare Ron judge him so quickly. He hasn't even spoken to him in over a year, how could he possibly know if he had changed or not. Eventually he'll see that he has changed. If she wanted their relationship to become serious they would all have to accept him.

. . .

"Stupefy!" Draco shouted. He was nearing the end of training for the day and he was getting quite exhausted. His partner for the day just happened to be the man who single handedly killed Voldemort. None other than Harry Potter. The two had become friendly acquaintances during Auror training.

"Expelliarmus!" Harry dueled back at him. Draco's wand flew out of his hand he moved quickly to retrieve it.

"Locomotor mortis!" Draco said as he flicked his wand. The second the curse hit Harry he was unable to move his legs. Quickly Harry spouted the counter-curse and unlocked his legs.

Suddenly the clock struck 5 o'clock ending the day of training.

"All right everyone I'll see you all on Monday. Don't forget that your final exam is in two weeks. You will need a passing grade to become an Auror. There will be no second chances under any circumstances." The head Auror trainer, Phil stated.

Draco knew that the final exam to become an Auror was imminent. The exam included a duel with an experienced Auror and a written test. He felt pretty prepared for both parts of the exam but he was still nervous. If he didn't pass the first time he would never get to become an Auror. The exams were six days before graduation. After the exams the trainees would continue their training but the training activities would become more real and intense.

The group of trainees filed out the door to leave the ministry. Draco had to wait a while to get in an elevator and when he did it was packed. Five in the evening was prime time for the ministry on any day.

When he arrived on the main floor he looked around for the nearest open floo fireplace. He spotted one and made his way over to it. When he got there he simply stepped in, said his address and was instantly in his living room.

Quickly he went up the stairs to his office to check and make sure his owl was there and if she had any letters for him. When he walked in the very professionally furnished office he saw that Lucille was right where she was supposed to be sleeping on her perch. There were no letters waiting for him. He wasn't really expecting any because he had just responded to Ames's and his mother's letters the day before.

He hadn't contacted Aurora in a couple days because he had been so exhausted from the rigorous routine at training. He hoped that she didn't feel bad or think that he wasn't interested because he was really starting to like her. She was just the kind of girl he was looking for, he actually kind of missed her even though it had only been three days. _I wonder if she's busy?_ He thought to himself.

Quickly, Draco sat down at his desk and grabbed for a piece of paper and a pen. Now that he was thinking about her, he really wanted to see Aurora tonight no matter how tired he was. He scribbled down a note.

He stood up and gently woke up his owl. She stirred awake and grabbed the letter in her beak. Draco opened the window and she soared out of his view.

. . .

Aurora was washing the dishes after a quick dinner of canned soup. She didn't feel like making anything extravagant for herself that evening. Looking around her little kitchen she thought again about her first kiss with Draco. It had been a few days since it had happened but she was still swooning over it. She couldn't believe that such a sweet guy wanted to be with her. _Would we be considered a couple? _Aurora wondered.

Drying off her hands Aurora went into her living room and laid down on her couch. The rest of the day at work at been just as hectic as the morning. By closing time the store only had half of its products left. The day had been a total success. George would be busy throughout the rest of the night making products so he could restock the shelves to their former glory.

After a few minutes of relaxing Aurora got up from her cushiony couch and went to the bathroom. Looking at herself in the mirror she brushed through her hair with her fingers and sighed. Deciding her breath did not smell too delightful she got out her toothbrush and toothpaste and quickly brushed her teeth.

As soon as she left her bathroom she heard a tapping on the window outside her living room. Curious to see what if was she rushed in the room to see Draco's owl perched on her windowsill. Her heart fluttered at the thought of what his letter might say. She had been waiting for him to contact her for days.

She rushed over to the window and opened it and the bird carefully placed the letter in her hand and waited. Carefully but excitedly she opened the note.

_Aurora,_

_If you're not busy tonight would you like to go do something with me? _

_ P.S. Sorry for not contacting you in a while, training has been very straining._

_ Draco_

Aurora's heart soared with joy. Quickly she wrote a reply on a spare piece of paper that was laying around.

_Draco,_

_Sure, come by my place in a half an hour?_

Aurora folded the note twice then held it out for Lucille. The owl swiftly picked it up and flew away. Heart still beating a mile a minute Aurora couldn't bear the wait for the owl to return.

She sat down on the loveseat adjacent to the window and tried to calm her nerves. She was so glad that he didn't forget about her and that he still wanted to continue seeing her. The thought of him almost made her catch her breath.

Suddenly the same tapping on her windowsill made her jump. _That was so quick!_ She thought as she reached out to the bird. It landed on her wrist and held out the letter in its beak. Aurora lightly grabbed it and opened it.

_See you then._

Short and sweet. She released the bird and closed her window. Realizing that she was just in a pair of sweat pants and a t-shirt Aurora went to her room and looked in her closet for something to wear. After minutes of contemplation she decided on a turquois v-neck cotton shirt and dark wash jeans.

Sitting down on her bed with her book she read and waited for Draco. Reading had always been an escape for Aurora. Whenever she felt lonely she could just start reading a good book and forget all her problems for a while. Flipping the page Aurora looked at the clock, it had only been ten minutes. She tried to get into the book but it was hard to focus so she just ended up day dreaming about Draco.

A while later she heard three loud knocks on her door. She hopped off her bed and when straight to the door. After arriving at the door she paused for a moment, calmed herself and opened the door and there he was.

"Hi." She said as she looked at him. He was wearing a plain gray t-shirt and jeans. Even though he was dressed down he still looked extremely handsome.

"Hello, are you ready to go?" He asked her as he gave her a once over. All that was running through his mind was that she was so beautiful, it was amazing to him that someone could even look that perfect.

"Yes, where exactly are we going?" Aurora asked as she walked out into the hallway and closed her apartment door.

"I was thinking that we would just go for a stroll, maybe window shop if that's alright with you." Draco replied as he took her hand in his.

"That sounds great." Aurora said as they walked down the hallway to the steps leading to Ollivander's shop.

"I hope you don't mind if we stroll somewhere other than Diagon Alley?" Draco asked cautiously. He knew where he wanted to bring her but he wasn't sure if she wanted to stay close to her home.

"Of course not." She smiled at him preparing to apparate.

With a slight squeezing sensation the two apparated and landed in a place Aurora had never been before. It was a little town with small shops lining the streets. There were people milling around going into shops and walking down the street. The evening twilight made the town look even more magical.

"Draco, where are we?" She asked curiously while still taking in the sights of the town.

"Hogsmeade." He simply stated and squeezed her hand slightly.

"This is Hogsmeade? My brother would always tell me about him coming here during the school year." Aurora explained as they walked along the right side of the street.

"Yes, it gets quite busy when the Hogwarts students take the trip over."

"I bet. Ames would always buy me a gift from Zonko's for Christmas." Aurora reminisced.

"That was nice of him. Unfortunately Zonko's closed just before the war and hasn't reopened." Draco said as they neared the Three Broomsticks. "Would you like to go and get a butterbeer?"

"Sure." Aurora had only drank butterbeer once in her life. When she was at Beauxbatons butterbeer was a rarity.

Draco led her into the small pub. As they walked in Aurora was slightly startled by the shrunken heads in the entrance. The pub was lit by candlelight and there were many people sitting and enjoying their drinks. The two sat down at a small table in the corner. Within seconds a little house elf came up to take their order.

"What will it be sir and madam?" The rather nicely dressed for working at a pub elf asked.

"Two butterbeers please." Draco said. The polite little elf snapped his fingers and two cold glasses of butterbeer appeared on their table. With that the elf went to take the next tables orders.

Although Aurora usually didn't drink alcohol, butterbeer had so little in it she didn't see a problem with it. It hardly tasted like an alcoholic beverage. She pulled the frothy drink closer to her and took a sip.

"So you said that training has been more difficult lately?" Aurora asked trying to make conversation.

"Yes, since the final exam is in two weeks they are trying to get in as much training as possible so we have a better idea of what to expect." Draco explained. It was true that the head of training Auror Phil was really upping the ante with dueling.

"What exactly do you do in training, I know you duel each other but what else is there?" She asked curiously. Ames had told her a little about his training but they had only talked about it just once.

"Well one part of the exam is a written test so once a week; we take a class instead of dueling practice. It's mostly just tracking skills, dueling tactics, and history of Aurors."

"Do you think you're ready for the exam?"

"For the most part yes, I'm just not sure what to expect when I duel with an experienced Auror." He said.

"That would be quite unnerving I would think." Aurora said as she took another sip of her drink.

"Yes. I noticed on my way to training this morning that George released a new product, there was a line all the way down the street."

"It was the most popular new item to date. It's a potion that makes your skin blend in with the colors round you, it's quite extraordinary. George had the wonderful idea of me trying it out first." Aurora laughed.

Draco chucked. He loved her laugh, it was so sweet and melodious.

"Does he play a lot of tricks on you?"

"Almost every day it's something new. By now it's expected and I don't really mind it."

"Well that's good." He concluded their conversation about their jobs. "Again, I'm sorry for not contacting you in the last few days, you probably thought I wasn't interested in you." He apologized sincerely.

"It's alright. For a little while I thought you wouldn't." She admitted as she looked down.

"Well you should know that I am interested in you, to be honest I don't think that I've met any woman like you." He confessed as she looked up.

"Really?" She asked as a smile lit up her face.

Blushing slightly Draco replied, "Yes, even though we haven't known each other for long I think you're an amazing and beautiful woman."

"You do? No one's ever said anything like that to me before…" She said as she smiled and blushed.

"But it's true." Draco said with all honesty.

"Well thank you." She said. Did he really just say he thought she was the most beautiful woman he'd ever seen? There was no way. How could a man so perfect think she was beautiful?

"You're welcome. Are you done?" He asked looking at her empty glass of butterbeer, he had finished his minutes before.

"Yes." She said as they stood up to leave.

After Draco paid the bill for their drinks they exited the pub and were back out on the now dark streets. The sun had set and the only thing lighting the town was the moon. There weren't as many people and a few of the stores had closed.

"Would you like to go back to my apartment and watch a movie or something?" Aurora asked innocently.

"That sounds good." Draco said as they walked a little ways down the street.

"Alright." Aurora concluded. With a pop and a squeeze they were outside her apartment door in the hallway above Ollivander's. It was quiet since the store was closed and was most likely already asleep.

Aurora unlocked the door and they walked in hand in hand. Draco looked around her small apartment for the first time. It wasn't much but it obviously was enough for Aurora. She didn't seem like the materialistic type anyway.

After popping in the DVD Aurora and Draco sat down on the cushy couch across from the television. Shyly she scooted closer to him. Noticing her closeness Draco took her hand. Her hand was small compared to him, she seemed so fragile.

Feeling more comfortable with Draco she leaned into him and put her head on his shoulder. She sighed, he smelt like fancy cologne. As soon as the movie started Aurora felt more at ease and they watched the movie silently. About a half an hour into the movie Draco desperately wanted to put his arm around Aurora. _Would it be ok? I know we've already kissed and all but…_ Forgetting his silly thoughts he fearlessly wrapped his arm around her waist. Aurora smiled at his intimate gesture.

As the end credits rolled Aurora stretched out a bit and pulled away from Draco. After stretching she moved back to her position next to him. Draco looked down at her; he leaned down slightly and pressed his lips against hers.

Taken aback by his kiss Aurora hesitated a moment but then kissed him back. She wrapped her arms around his neck as she deepened the kiss. Feeling daring, she opened her mouth slightly allowing the kiss to become more passionate. Draco obliged and slid his tongue across hers. He leaned over her slightly and put one hand on her side. Within moments the kiss became more needy and passionate. Aurora moved herself more under him and Draco carefully placed himself over her.

Aurora traced her hands down his muscular stomach and up his back. Towering over her Draco kissed her neck and held her sides. _Where is this going?_ He asked himself. If she wanted him to stop he knew she would tell him.

Kissing Draco feverously, Aurora began to feel a fire burning within her core. Passion was running through her veins as she gripped the back of his shirt. Suddenly she could feel a needy wetness between her legs.

Draco sensed the kiss becoming more intense while Aurora was grabbing his shirt, he too was feeling quite passionate but he didn't want to take this too far. It was hard to hold back as he was feeling up her stomach and thighs. His pants began to feel tighter as he felt himself harden.

Abruptly Aurora realized that if this continued she would take it farther than she wanted to. She had never had sex and she certainly didn't want her first time to be on her couch with a man she had only been dating a week.

"Draco…" She said weakly.

Immediately he stopped what he was doing and looked down at Aurora, her cheeks were flushed and her lips swollen from his kisses. "What is it?"

"Maybe we should stop; I don't want to take this too far…" She said nervously, she didn't want him to think she was a tease.

"Yes of course." He said politely as he got off her and sat next to her and tried to hide his obvious arousal.

"I'm sorry, it's just I've never done anything like this before." She confessed to him.

"It's perfectly alright." He said. He wasn't surprised that she was a virgin but relieved. It was a strange feeling but he was glad she hadn't done this with some other bloke.

She smiled at him and got up. "Well I have work tomorrow and I need to get to bed soon if that's alright."

"Of course, I wouldn't want you to feel too exhausted in the morning because of me."

"Alright then. Goodnight Draco."

"Goodnight Aurora." He kissed her lips softly and disaparated home.

Aurora sighed and went into her bed to change into her pajamas. As she got into bed she began to wonder to herself, _I wonder if Draco has ever done anything like that with someone, is he a virgin? No, a guy like him can't be. He's probably had sex with numerous women. No! Don't think that. He seems like enough of a gentleman to not sleep around. Hopefully I can figure it out soon._


	7. The Good and the Bad

_**Ah yes, another chapter. PLEASE REVIEW. Don't forget to follow my twitter Simi098 for information on updates!**_

**Thursday, June 23****rd**** 1999 (A Week and Six Days Later)**

Draco rubbed his eyes and took another sip of the strongest coffee he could find. It was the night before his final exam and he was attempting to cram as much information as he could into his mind. It oddly reminded him of studying for the O.W.L.S at Hogwarts in his fifth year. The history of Aurors was long and detailed. The textbook they had received was over two thousand pages long.

The next day the exam would begin at nine in the morning and each trainee would take the exam one by one until they were all through. It could take just through the day or all through the night; Draco's class was rather large so he hoped he would be one of the first so he wouldn't have to wait hours. The order in which they took the test was random so he had no way of knowing.

The clock on the wall across from his desk ticked midnight. Draco sighed, he needed a little break. Pushing his textbook and notes aside he laid his head in his arms and rested his mind. He thought about the last time he had seen Aurora, it was two days before. They had met up at Draco's house after she had work and his training and simply sat in his backyard and watched the sunset. He felt himself increasingly grow his feelings for her. It was weird for him to think that he may end up falling in love with her.

In the past few two weeks they had seen each other a few times but nothing as intense had happened as the night when they had an all-out make out session on her couch. He knew that he probably crossed a line when that happened, but he didn't know that she had never done anything like that before. What if he were to be her first? That was a thought that crossed his mind when he got home that evening. But he didn't know if she would even want to with him. He would wait for her as long as she wanted to. Sex wasn't something he thought about that often since his first time wasn't exactly pleasurable for him. Pansy wasn't really concerned about what he wanted.

He hadn't told Aurora that he wasn't a virgin. Unsure about how she would react he kept it to himself until he thought it was an appropriate time to tell her. She probably thought he wasn't anyways, most men his age weren't. He felt much older than his age; he had been through so much in only nineteen years.

Realizing that a decent amount of time had passed, he decided that he should start studying again. After taking his textbook out again he recognized that he couldn't possibly put any more information into his brain, he must know enough to pass the test by now.

Turning out the lamp in his office he made his way into his bedroom. After taking off his button up shirt and tie and slipping on his pajama pants he crawled into bed and went to sleep.

**Friday, June 24****th**** 1999**

At precisely seven in the morning Draco's alarm clock chimed its annoying wake up call. He rolled over and rubbed his eyes. Knowing that today was the day he would either pass or fail the biggest test of his life Draco already felt anxious.

Getting out of bed he brushed his hand through his hair and made his way to the shower. While washing his hair he went over all the information he studied the night before and all he could remember from class. Spells and curses whizzed through his mind as he thought about the most challenging part of the examination, the duel.

After toweling himself off he put on his best button up shirt and nicest pitch black tie. He slid on his dress pants then combed through his light blonde hair. Approving of how he looked, he went put his black shiny loafers on and apparated to the Ministry of Magic.

As he arrived next to the gigantic fountain on the main floor of the Ministry he looked to the clock noticing he still had an hour before exams would begin. No doubt he wasn't the only trainee already there; many of them would want to arrive early to find out when they will be taking their exam.

Curious himself about the time he would be tested on his knowledge he went to the nearest open elevator and pressed the button for the Auror training floor. There were several other people in the elevator all going to different floors and departments.

When it was his turn to get off he took one last look at the elevator thinking, _the next time I see that fountain I'll either be an Auror or a sad failure._ His future was depending on the next few hours.

Walking down the hallway to where the list of trainees was posted he noticed that almost the whole class was there. Some of them were crowded around the board where the list was posted, the rest who already knew when their test was scheduled were milling about and chatting with each other.

Maneuvering around the other men looking at the list Draco set his eyes on it and searched for his name. When he found it he was pleasantly surprised with his placement, fifth. He would have time to think over what he had studied and relax a bit. Also he would know his fate sooner and not have to wait all day to take an exam that would take him just forty five minutes. Some trainees would take more or less time depending on their written test. How long the duel took didn't matter because they had at least ten experienced Aurors ready to duel them.

Now knowing when he would be testing Draco sat down on a bench across the hallway and tried to relax. He knew he would be waiting at least a few hours. Some of the other trainees brought copies of _The Daily Prophet_ or books. Draco brought neither of those.

After a while the large clock at the end of the hallway chimed nine o'clock. In that second the head of the Auror Training Department, Phil Montgomery came out of a door at the very end of the hallway. When he made his way to the group of anxious men he stopped.

"Alright boys, today's the day. You will take your examination in the order posted on the board. Take as much time as you need on the written portion and be prepared for your timed duel." He said officially as he went to the list and looked back at one of the older trainees that Draco did not know very well. "John, looks like you're up first, come with me." Phil told him. They went swiftly back down the hallway and into the examination room.

Draco sighed and sat back down on the bench. Now that the exams had started he became even more nervous. What happens if he doesn't pass? There's nothing else he could see himself doing.

About a half an hour later Phil came back out of the room at the end of the hallway and called down the next person on the list. It was a younger man, probably only at the age of eighteen.

This routine went on for the next two people on the list. It was now eleven o'clock and Draco was up next. His nerves had hardly calmed down since he arrived. He hoped that he had studied and practiced enough to pass easily. As the seconds ticked by until his turn he noticed his hands started to shake and his heartbeat quicken.

A few minutes later Phil came out again. This time for Draco. He called his name and Draco stood up and walked down the seemingly long hallway to the testing room. It was small with only a table and a chair. Upon the table there was a quill and a bottle of ink. The walls were gray and the floor had wood paneling.

Sitting down in the chair Draco watched Phil take out the exam from a carefully sealed folder. Draco swallowed as Phil placed the test directly in front of him on the table.

"Take as much time as you need when you are finished leave through that door," He said pointing to a door on the other side of the room, "Someone will be out there to collect your completed exam and they will take you to the next part of your examination. While you are dueling your written test will be graded and at the end of the second part of your examination you will hear the results of both tests. Good luck." With that Phil exited through the door he pointed at moments before.

Draco picked up the quill and wrote his name at the top of the exam. He quickly looked over all of the questions; it was exactly as he had expected it would be. After answering a few questions easily he started to feel confident he would pass this portion of the exam. Out of all fifty questions there was only a couple he was not fully sure of. In order to pass he needed to get at least forty five right.

Looking over his answers one last time Draco put the quill back on the table next to the ink. He stood up and slowly walked to the door and thought, _this is it no turning back now. _Warily, he opened the door and stepped into a small room. There was a petite woman sitting at a desk correcting the exam of the trainee before him.

"Please place your exam here then go out that door and down the hallway, second door on your right." She said in a high pitched voice pointing to the corner of her desk.

Doing as she told him to he carefully set his test down on her desk and left the room through the door she indicated.

Draco knew the ministry was big but he didn't know there were so many little rooms and hallways dedicated to just one thing. He entered a hallway that looked just like all the other hallways in the ministry. Quickly he made his way to the second door on the right. There was a sign on the door saying "When entering, have your wand at the ready." Taking a deep breath Draco took his wand out of his pocket and went into the room in which the duel was awaiting him.

The room was dark; there were little lights around the room, but not enough to see much of anything. The timer of the twenty minute duel and begun. Knowing there was someone in the room who would be soon throwing curses at him he raised his wand. He stepped quietly forward away from the lights trying to keep himself hidden while he looked for the other person in the room.

Then he saw him, it was just a shadow in the light but from that he could tell precisely where he was. Draco quickly faced towards his opponent and shouted, "Stupefy!"

Right away he knew he hit his opponent, the man went flying through the air and landed with a thud on the floor. He quickly got up and that's when Draco knew who he was up against, Peter Jefferson, who was ranked just under head Auror. He was also not that much older than Draco, just by a couple years.

"Locomotor mortis!" Peter skillfully cursed him.

Suddenly Draco's legs were bound together and he could barely keep himself up. "Confundo!" He said to confuse Peter. In the time he was confused Draco quickly did the counter curse to unlock his legs and he ran back into the darkness.

Trying to remember useful curses and hexes Draco pulled himself together and slyly hid in the shadows trying to catch a glimpse of Peter. He pressed himself up against the wall and slowly moved to his left. Looking into the lights he found him again, he was obviously no longer confused and was also looking for him. Draco's heart was beating fast as he shouted out, "Incarcerous!" In a second Peter was wrapped up in ropes, he struggled to move his wand to do the counter-curse.

The timer high up on the wall showed that there were still ten minutes left. Draco thought he was doing alright so far, he managed not getting hurt or caught up in a spell.

Draco backed up a bit when he noticed that Peter was getting out of the ropes. He held his wand up in front of himself as Peter stood up and faced him. They stood there for a moment seemingly sizing each other up.

Deciding that he needed to make the first move he quickly said the first curse that came to mind. "Levicorpus!"

The next thing he knew he was on the ground. Peter had quickly dodged his curse and knocked him back with the knockback jinx. Hurriedly he got up and tried his luck again. "Expelliarmus!"

Peter's wand flew out of his hand as Draco uttered another curse, "Stupefy!"

His opponent was thrown through the air still without his wand. Trying not to waste any more time he quickly went to Peter who was again just getting up from the ground. He pointed his wand at him as he stood in front of him waiting until he was back on his feet. Draco didn't want to seem like a coward by cursing him when he was already down.

Again they were back facing each other. Thinking fast Draco shouted, "Impedimenta!" Peter froze. In that moment Draco knew that he had the upper hand in the duel and he needed to keep it up the last minute or two.

Slowly moving away from Peter, Draco waited for him to get his bearings. He gripped his wand tight and prepared for his next move. Just as Peter got up and was about to throw a curse at Draco, the timer buzzed. The duel was over.

Suddenly all the lights came on and Draco was relieved that he was finished with his exams. Peter walked up to him smiling and shook his hand firmly.

"Congratulations Mr. Malfoy I'd say that you passed this portion of your exam with flying colors. The results of your written test will be brought to you in a few minutes if you'll just wait in the hallway." Peter said still smiling.

"Thank you." Draco said happily. Now all he needed to know was how he did on the written portion. After shaking Peter's hand he went back out the door he came in into the hallway. He tapped his foot in anticipation while he could hear other trainees dueling in the other rooms down the hallway, there were loud crashes, thumps, and blasts of light from under the doorways.

Moments later the petite woman who seemed to be correcting the written exams earlier came out into the hallway with a clipboard in her hands.

"Draco Malfoy?" She called out looking at him.

Draco got up and made his way to her, "That's me."

"Your exam has been graded, you got forty eight out of fifty correct. Congratulations." She said as she smiled at him and went back into her grading room.

Draco smiled big and felt relief and joy spread though his body. He was really going to be an Auror. With the reality setting in Draco walked to the elevator with a certain spring in his step. He stepped into the elevator and pressed the button for the main floor. While waiting for the elevator to arrive on the main floor he couldn't wait to tell his mother and Aurora the news. Being reminded of Aurora an idea popped into his mind.

Getting off the elevator he noticed that the ministry had gotten significantly busier in the last few hours. Countless witches and wizards were milling about either going to work or going home. He made his way to one of the red telephone booths which were stationed across from the flooing fireplaces.

Going in he slightly remembered how they worked.

"Hello, will you be leaving the Ministry of Magic or going to a another place in the Ministry?" The automated voice asked.

"Leaving." Draco stated clearly.

"Destination?" The voice asked.

"The south end of Diagon Alley." Draco said anxious to get out of the ministry.

"Thank you for visiting the Ministry of Magic today. Have a good day." The voice said finally.

The booth began to sink into the floor and went into an underground tunnel system that went miles and miles all over London. Within a few minutes the booth began to go up again and onto the street. Draco got out of the telephone booth and walked down the street to the store he had walked by so many times but never thought he would go into, The Enchanted Bouquet. Going in the wonderful smell of flowers overwhelmed him. Looking around there were rows and rows of bouquet displays.

Soon after he entered an older woman came out from the back of the shop, most likely the owner.

"Hello, is there anything I can help you with?" The woman said cheerily with a grin on her aged face.

"Yes, I need a dozen red roses please." Draco said politely, a little shy since he had never bought any kind of flowers for a woman before.

The woman went to work arranging the roses in perfect fashion. "Would you like to write a card with it?" She asked finishing up the bouquet.

"Sure." He said fiddling with his hands. Draco was still giddy from passing his exams; he also couldn't wait to give the roses to Aurora.

When the woman completed the bouquet he paid for it then immediately left the store. He knew that Aurora would still be at work so he knew he would just have to leave it at her apartment for her to find later. Disapparating to the hallway outside her apartment he quickly scrawled a note on the little card attached to one of the roses.

He cast a spell to suspend the bouquet in the air in front of her door so there would be no way for her to miss it. Remembering what he had planned for later in the evening for Aurora he quickly apparated to his home.

. . .

"Ugh!" Angelina grumbled down the stairs as Aurora finished ringing up a customer. As one of her best friends Aurora knew that Angelina and George's relationship had been on the rocks for the last couple weeks. She also knew that she would know all about it in a few moments.

Seeing no one else ready to buy, Aurora stepped away from the cash register for a moment to check on Angelina.

"Angie?" Aurora called to her as she went into the break room.

"Yeah?" She answered as she wiped her eye from a single tear.

Sitting down on the couch next to her she asked, "What did he do this time?"

"He's just so… impossible. I understand that he's still upset over Fred's death but he doesn't get that other people care about him, his drinking is getting almost as bad as it was before." Angelina explained still frustrated.

"I wonder what sparked him to start again." Aurora wondered out loud.

"I'm not quite sure. He seemed like he was doing fine just a few weeks ago. Maybe he was just reminded of him in some way recently." She suggested.

"Maybe. What helped him last time?" Aurora asked sitting back on the couch.

"Just his family, his friends, and maybe even me. He doesn't feel the need to drink if he's around people he loves." Angelina said.

"Well what's changed?"

"Family, I think. Ginny and Ron have only been with Harry and Hermione. They're all wrapped up in their romantic relationships they seem to think that George is just over it." She said sadly.

"But what about you? I know you're here all the time."

"Well yes, but he'll stay up after I go to bed and drink."

"I'm not sure how to help; I've never dealt with anything like this." Aurora confessed.

"Hopefully it will get better on its own; you should probably get back to work. Thank you for talking to me though." Angelina said as she got up.

"It's no problem." Aurora said as Angelina pulled her into a hug. At first she was surprised at her sudden show of affection toward her but she accepted it in a second. She felt good to have a friend that felt that comfortable with her.

After embracing Angelina, Aurora went quickly back to her station in which there was a line of customers ready to buy. She hoped that George didn't notice that she had left her post. In the last few hours of work Aurora couldn't stop thinking about George, she didn't know if there was anything she could do to help.

When her shift was over she got all of her things and quickly went out the door. She knew that today was the day that Draco took his Auror exams and couldn't wait to hear from him. Hopefully he would send her an owl when she got home.

Hurriedly she made her way through the crowded streets of Diagon Alley. When she got to Ollivander's she greeted the old man and went up the stairs to her apartment.

Immediately when she got to her door a smile lit up her face. She carefully put her hand up to grasp the beautiful bouquet of red roses suspended in front of her. Holding the flowers she smelled them and felt a warm fuzzy feeling overwhelm her. Noticing the little card on the side she opened it up and read the familiar handwriting.

_Aurora, _

_Good news, I passed! Meet me at my house at seven o'clock to celebrate._

_-Draco_

Suddenly very happy and excited for later that night Aurora rushed into her apartment. She found a big enough vase for the roses and put them on her bedside table. Afterward she looked at the clock on her dresser and noticed she had an hour before Draco was expecting her. That gave her more than enough time to get ready.

Opening up her closet she scanned over all her clothes. After a few minutes of picking out and discarding outfits she decided on dark wash capris and a flowy white top with a V-neck. Setting the outfit out on her bed Aurora went into her bathroom to take a shower.

After drying her hair with a beauty spell, Aurora went back into her bedroom to get dressed. While slipping on her capris she realized something, for the first time in her life she was able to say that she felt good in her own skin and she knew it was only because Draco liked her just the way she was. Even though she hadn't even known him for three weeks she thought that maybe she was already falling in love with him. She desperately hoped he felt the same way.

Already dressed Aurora brushed through her hair and decided to leave it in its natural straightness. Seeing as her hair was in its natural way she wanted to keep the theme and only used mascara on her eye lashes.

Spritzing on a few sprays of her favorite perfume that smelled like vanilla, Aurora looked at the clock again which now read six forty-five. With fifteen minutes to kill, Aurora went into her living room and cleaned up the coffee table and the counters in her kitchen. When she was finished she was glad to see it was only two minutes away from being seven o'clock.

Knowing Draco wouldn't mind if she showed up a few minutes early Aurora apparated to the street Draco's house was on. She never felt comfortable just apparating into someone's home. Enjoying the night air Aurora walked down the street to his house.

When she arrived to his house there was nothing that could have prepared her for what she saw in the window that showed his living room. In the window she saw Draco kissing a petite black haired woman, she stared in disbelief for a moment. He pulled away from the woman quickly and somehow knowing Aurora was there he looked out the window and had a look of horror on his face that she had seen him kissing another woman. Instantly heartbroken and not caring who saw her, Aurora disaparated back to her bedroom and immediately began to cry.


	8. The Last Time

_**Hello again. First of all sorry for the almost cliffhanger I will explain everything in this slightly shorter chapter. Thank you to the Anonymous reader who reviewed! And happy Fourth of July to all my fellow Americans!**_

**Friday, June 24****th**** 1999 (A half an hour earlier)**

Carefully placing two plates down on his dining table from the china collection his mother gave to him when he moved into his house, Draco smiled. He had never really been the romantic type so all of this was new to him. He hoped he was doing it right.

After leaving the roses for Aurora, Draco went home to send a letter to his mother to tell her he passed. She replied right away telling him how proud she was of him and that she wanted to see him soon. Draco had yet to tell his mother that he had a girlfriend; he didn't know what she would think. Knowing his mother wasn't like his father, he knew the fact that Aurora was muggle born wouldn't be a problem. Maybe next time he went to visit her he would bring Aurora with.

Making sure his enchantments were still doing their job cooking the spaghetti and meatballs he decided on making for their dinner, Draco turned to look out the window facing the street. Living among muggles was entertaining and fascinating. They did very strange things such as used weird transportation devices called cars. He had seen them before that but wasn't sure what they were used for.

His neighbors were fairly curious of him since he didn't have one of those cars and he had a pet owl that carried letters. They probably thought he was a nutter.

His muggle watching was disrupted by a pop sound coming from the living room. Someone had just apparated into his home. Assuming it was Aurora he smiled and turned around. But he was sorely mistaken. There standing in his living room was the woman he hoped he would never see again. Pansy Parkinson. She was standing there in a very skimpy tight black shirt and skin tight black jeans. She looked the same as he had last seen her.

"What the hell are you doing here?" Draco asked rudely as he walked into the living room.

"I wanted to see you, Draco, I've missed you." She said as she slowly walked toward him.

"Pansy, I don't want anything to do with you. How did you even find me?" He demanded while backing away from her.

"Come on, Draco, you're not that hard to find. I hear you're an Auror now, who are you trying to fool?" She toyed as she kept trying to get closer to him.

"I'm different now Pansy. I don't want anything to do with you or the rest of the remaining death eaters. In fact as an Auror I plan on taking some of them out." He said matter of factly.

"You wouldn't dare betray your own father like that. He would be so… disappointed in you." Pansy said cruelly knowing that as a child all he wanted was to make his father proud of him.

"That doesn't matter now. Now get out." Draco growled, starting to get angry.

"Doesn't matter? That's all that used to matter to you. Your daddy's approval was all you cared about." She reminisced.

"It _used _to matter to me, I don't need his approval. I'm a better person now anyways." Draco lied, he was a better person but what his father thought of him still weighed on his mind.

"So what? You're a silly little Auror now. Do you know how many have been killed in the past year?" She asked rudely.

"Yes, I do. But do you know that there aren't that many of you left? By this time next year we wager you'll be all wiped out." He said in a snide tone.

"That's funny. Soon there will be none of you left." She said confidently.

"That's not true; now get out of my house." He demanded again.

"Oh come on Draco, don't you think we should pick up where we left off maybe?" Pansy said as she came so close their faces were inches apart.

"No. I don't want you anymore. You're a cruel bitch that tricked me into thinking that you actually cared for me when all you cared about was my family's status with Voldemort." Draco said as he pushed her off him.

"You know that's not true, how could you say that? I love you." Pansy said in her most convincing voice.

"No, you don't. Now leave before I have to force you out." Draco said angrily.

"I do love you! If you refused to believe it I'll just have to show you." She said, and without warning she quickly went up to him and kissed him. Her mouth was soft, but poisonous. For a moment he remembered what it was like back at Hogwarts when they were together. In a moment of memory he kissed her back for only a second but then realized what he was doing and pushed her away.

In that moment he felt a horrible feeling spread through his body as he quickly turned to the direction of his intuition. In that moment his stomach dropped, Aurora was standing on the sidewalk with a shocked look on her face, in the next moment she was gone. She disaparated.

Not even caring of the presence of Pansy he immediately tried to apparate into her apartment, but it failed. She must've enchanted it so no one could apparate inside.

Suddenly furious of what Pansy had just caused, he shouted at her, "GET OUT NOW OR I WON'T HESITATE TO KILL YOU!" The tone in his voice was unfamiliar to him, it was cruel and mean. Apparently terrified of him, Pansy disaparated.

Not sure of what to do next he stopped the spells that were still cooking the romantic dinner that would not happen. He knew that there was no way she would accept any of his explanations. Even though they were true he didn't think she would believe it. Still he thought it would be worth a try, he wasn't about to let her go that easily. He quickly apparated to the hallway above Ollivander's where her apartment was. Not planning out what he was going to say he rapped on her door loudly.

"Who is it?" Her beautiful voice that he would probably never hear again called through what sounded like tears. Just by her voice he could tell she was crying.

He knew that once he told her it was him she wouldn't open the door. He prepared for the last time he would hear her voice, for goodbye.

Sighing he called back to her, "It's me, Draco. I can explain it's not what you think!"

"Go away!" She almost yelled at him.

"As you wish." He said in a normal voice, he wasn't sure if she heard it but it didn't really matter. Aurora would never forgive him, if he were in her position and didn't know what had really happened he wouldn't either.

Feeling hopeless he apparated home to think about how the person that he came to care for the most in such a short time was now gone and he would probably never see her again.

. . .

**Saturday, June 25****th**** 1999**

Throwing away yet another tissue, Aurora knew that she needed to get to sleep. It was two in the morning and she couldn't bring herself to get up from her couch which she had been in since she got home. She couldn't believe that Draco had cheated on her. She thought that he was such a sweet and nice guy. Obviously it was all a ploy.

When he came to talk to her all she wanted to do was let him in and let him explain but she knew all he would be telling her was lies. Getting up from her plush couch she made her way to her bedroom. Immediately upon entering she saw the roses that he had bought her earlier. Quickly she took them out of the vase and into the trash bin. She put on her pajamas and crawled into bed.

Four short hours later Aurora woke up to the cute little chime on her alarm clock. She was exhausted and heartbroken, knowing she would get an 'I told you so' from George, Aurora dreaded going to work. Knowing she probably looked horrible she quickly took a shower and got ready for work.

Leaving her apartment she hoped that this particular Saturday would be less busy, but she knew it wouldn't. Walking out she noticed that there were only a few people making their way to work or running early morning errands.

Walking into the store she turned on the lights and put her bag in the break room. She didn't think George was even awake yet, the store looked all stocked up and ready for opening time. Since she wasn't sure, Aurora walked up the stairs to George's office to check if he was awake. After knocking twice she waited for a response.

"Come in." She could hear George say in a tired voice. Going in she noticed his office was messier with new products in progress than it usually was.

"I'm surprised to see you awake at this time." Aurora told him as she stood in front of his desk.

"I couldn't sleep." George simply said.

"Why not?" Aurora asked caringly.

"Angelina's still angry with me, we had a row last night we sort of made up but it still doesn't feel right. At least she's still here." George explained trying to stay on the bright side.

"I don't think she would leave, she cares about you very much you know." Aurora said as he looked up at her.

"I know, I don't know why, I'm no good for her." He said sadly.

"Yes you are. To her the fact that you love her is good enough." Aurora said, her voice filled with sentiment for the couple.

"Thanks Aurora, that means a lot. Enough about me, it looks like you either had a really good, or really bad night." He said noticing her tired eyes.

"It wasn't a very good night but I don't know if I want to talk about it with you." She said nervously not knowing how he would react if he knew what happened.

"It's Draco isn't it?" He suggested. "But if you don't want to talk I understand."

"Yes, but I don't want to speak about it." She admitted to him.

"Well if you do want to talk I'll be right here." George sweetly offered.

"Thanks, I should go back downstairs now." Aurora said as she left the room before she started crying because of Draco again.

Aurora had to brave out the next few hours as hundreds of young and adult wizards came through the store buying fun little potions and trinkets. Usually she loved her job but today she couldn't see the joy in it. Every few minutes she would look out the window and remembered the first time she saw Draco. She never knew that one person could make her hurt so badly.

At noon she was relieved that it was her break so she could get away from all the people. As she went in she wasn't surprised to see Angelina there reading a witch magazine, obviously their fight had either blown over or wasn't such a big deal.

"Hey Aurora." Angelina said as she noticed Aurora walking in.

"Hi, how's it going?" She asked sitting next to her on the couch.

Putting down her magazine she said, "Alright, George told me that something happened with Draco, do you want to talk about it?"

Aurora sighed; she figured she would have to tell them what happened sooner or later. "I suppose. Well last night we made plans to meet up at his house because he wanted to celebrate passing his Auror exams, but when I got there I saw him snogging another woman."

"Do you know who the woman was?" Angelina asked, interested in her story.

"No, I've never seen her before. She was kind of short and had black hair." Aurora described as Angelina's eyes widened.

"Do you think you would recognize her if you saw a picture?" She asked.

"Yeah, probably." Aurora said, not really interested in seeing that woman again.

"Hold on." Angelina said as she got up and started rifling through newspapers on the table behind the couch. Finding what she was looking for she came back and sat right next to Aurora.

"Is this her?" Angelina pointed to a picture of a list of names and pictures of death eaters still on the loose that people needed to look out for. Immediately Aurora knew it was her. The name under the picture was one she didn't recognize.

"Yeah, it is." Aurora said. Seeing her just brought back the memory in even more clarity.

"That bitch!" Angelina swore.

"Do you know her?" Aurora asked, suddenly curious about who the woman might be.

"Yes, that's Pansy Parkinson. The little bitch almost turned Harry over to the death eaters before the battle at Hogwarts. She's been loyal to the death eaters her whole life. Draco and Pansy were an item during school for at least a year. I always remember her being rather annoying actually. I can't imagine why she would want anything to do with him knowing he's going to be an Auror." Angelina revealed to her.

"I don't know." Aurora admitted as she sat back in the couch taking in the information that was just thrown at her.

"Does he know that you saw?" Angelina asked putting down the newspaper.

"Yes, but right when he saw me I disaparated." She clarified.

"Did he go after you to try to explain or anything? Angelina questioned .

"He came to my apartment, but I wouldn't let him in. I just thought that he would lie to me about it." Aurora told her as she felt tears welling up in her eyes.

"I think you did the right thing, if you let him in he probably would've been able to convince you of something that wasn't true." Angelina agreed with her decision.

"I suppose. So, are you and George ok? He told me you argued last night." Aurora asked, wanting to change the subject.

"Were alright now. I pretty much told him that I'd had enough of his drinking and that if he didn't stop I would leave him. He was angry at first and told me that if I didn't like it I should leave, then he went down to his office for a while until around two in the morning. He came and woke me up and apologized and all that. Hopefully he will stop." Angelina explained the situation as she folded her arms.

"Do you think you'll really leave him if he doesn't?" She asked.

"I really don't know, I know I should but I don't know if I could."

"I can imagine it would be difficult."

"Yeah, well we should probably get back to work." Angelina suggested.

"Alright." Aurora said as she got up from the couch and back into the store.

Throughout the next few grueling hours of work, all Aurora wanted to do was go home. When the end of the day finally rolled around she shut down the store as quickly as she could. It took a few minutes to get to her apartment since it was the busiest day of the week at Diagon Alley, but when she did get there she immediately put her bag down and went to her bedroom and fell asleep.

. . .

Draco sat restlessly at the Auror department at the ministry. He was attending a meeting for all the Auror trainees that passed. There were only a few that didn't. The graduation ceremony would be in five days. Now he knew that the only person that would be there for him was his mother. He also knew that Aurora would be there, not for him, but for her friends Harry and Ron.

After the meeting they were to discuss when their first mission would be and who they would be going with. It didn't matter to him anymore when he was leaving or for how long, the longer the better he thought. It would give him time to not think about Aurora or what had happened. Not only did he loose Aurora, but Ames too, after she told him what happened.

Draco sighed as the meeting ended and everyone was getting up to be assigned to their missions. They formed a line in front of Phil, he handed them a sheet of paper with all the information concerning when they would be leaving, what they would be doing, the length of the mission, and precisely where they would be.

Last in line Draco was the only trainee left in the room as he approached Phil.

"Ah, Draco, just the person I wanted to speak with." He said as he handed him his assignment. "I hope you don't mind that your mission is the soonest of all of them. You leave the day after graduation."

"That's just fine with me. But, why did you assign me the soonest?" Draco asked curiously.

"Because I knew you could handle it. It's not that far away of a mission, its only in Scotland. But it is very important, you will be tracking down some of Voldemort's closest followers. Finding them and taking them down won't be easy. That is why I will be accompanying you." He revealed to him.

"But, don't you have more trainees to teach?" Draco asked.

"Someone will be taking over my job for a while. I needed a break from teaching so the Auror department placed me on a mission." Phil explained. "The morning after graduation I need you to meet me in my office at precisely ten in the morning. I can't say how long we will be away but its sounds like around a month."

"Alright, sounds good." Draco concluded the conversation.

"See you on Thursday." Phil said as Draco left the room.

Draco could hardly believe that he would be leaving so soon, he knew he would leave soon after training but he thought it would be at least a couple weeks. He was glad that he would have Phil with him to help him on the mission.

Leaving the Ministry, Draco had already made plans to visit his mother that day. She had insistent that he come see her before graduation. Now he didn't have anything else to do.

He apparated from the main floor at the Ministry to the giant looming gate at Malfoy Manor. Opening the gate with the password that had been in effect since before he was born, he walked down the long walkway to the house. It was pretty intimidating for anyone who wasn't used to having such a large and extravagant home.

He rang the doorbell and waited. Moments later his mother opened the door with a smile on her face.

"Draco darling, it's so nice to see you." She said as she pulled him into a hug.

"It's nice to see you too, Mum." Draco said as he walked into the luxurious manor. His mother had obviously been using her time rearranging furniture and redecorating. It hardly looked like he remembered it.

They sat down in the plush living room with a simple black and white theme. Draco got comfortable in the familiar leather couch.

"So how have you been, Draco?" His mother caringly asked.

"I've been pretty good. How have you been?" Draco asked, keeping it simple, he didn't want to let his mother in on what happened with Aurora, he didn't think it was necessary because she would never meet her anyway.

"I've been busy with all of this renovating and redecorating, but I enjoy the new look of this old place." Narcissa said.

"It looks very nice." Draco complimented.

"Thank you. Draco, I am so proud that you completed your Auror training." She said with a smile on her face.

"That means a lot mum, thanks." Draco said, his mother's approval of him was always important to him even though he already knew she would always love him no matter what.

"So when are you leaving for your first assignment?" She asked, obviously nervous for the safety of her son.

"A week from today." He said almost wincing; not knowing how his mother would react.

"A week? Isn't that a bit soon? You will only have just graduated." Narcissa said hysterically.

"I know, I wasn't expecting to leave so soon." Draco calmly explained.

"Well I don't want you to get hurt, please be careful." She said calming down a bit.

"I'll be careful, don't worry mum." He assured her.

"I'll try not to. On another note, I learned that the soonest we can visit your father at Azkaban is August 15th. Do you think you would like to come with me?" She asked, truly not sure whether he would come or not.

"I think so, I'm still surprised they starting letting people visit their family members. It seems quite odd considering the high security of the prison."

"Yes, it is a unique opportunity that we should take advantage of." Narcissa said frankly.

For the next few hours Draco caught up with his mother and they had lunch in the parlor served by her many house elves. He remembered all the good times he had in the manor before his school days had begun. Not having any siblings he didn't really have anyone to play with so he made his own fun. Usually it would be playing pranks on the house elves.

When it was time for him to leave he hugged and kissed his mother on the cheek. After lingering on the porch for a minute he disaparated home for the second lonely night without Aurora.


	9. Graduation

_**Hello my lovely readers first I would like to announce that I have found a beta, RainingKlisses! This chapter is one of my favorites so far, so enjoy!**_

**Friday, July1st, 1999**

Six days.

It had been six days since Draco's fallout with Aurora. The only thing he could concentrate on that kept his mind off of her was preparing himself for his upcoming mission. He desperately wanted to talk to her and explain what happened, anything, but he knew it would be no use.

Every day he would go through the same routine in his mind.

He would decide to send her a letter and moments later, guilt and fear and sorrow would build up deep in his chest, and he would take it back, and ultimately do nothing. Even if Aurora listened and miraculously understood, he wouldn't be around for the next month, and that would be longer than they were together in the first place.

He came to accept that it would be better for her to just forget him.

Giving his owl Lucille a treat for just returning with a letter, he sat down and looked at it. Just stared at the letter, eyes trying to make out why this felt so different.

For one, one, it was old, tattered carelessly around the bent edges, obviously been used before. Carefully, and gently with steady hands, Draco opened the seal and took the letter out.

The second he saw who it was from, he winced.

Ames.

Draco didn't doubt for a second that he knew about what happened. Opening up the letter, his breath quickening, he prepared himself for the untimely end of a friendship, one he'd grown to cherish.

_D.M,_

_Congratulations mate! I heard you passed your exams and are already assigned. They must think highly of you. I'm sorry to say I won't be back in time for your graduation, in fact I don't even know when I'll be back. Hopefully by the end of this summer._

_We seem to be making little progress over here; it's very difficult to be discreet when there are so many muggles around. The Auror office is sending a couple of the new Aurors over here to help, they think it might speed up the mission but I'm not sure._

_Anyways I wanted to wish you luck, let you know I probably won't be able to reach you while you're gone. I won't know where you are and you won't know where I am, so I'll talk to you whenever. _

_A.A_

Draco sighed in relief. His best friend, the brother of the girl whose heart he probably broke, (Draco winced at the reminder) knew nothing of the incident.

Actually, now that he thought about it, there was no way Ames could know, Aurora could only receive letters from him; she couldn't send messages to him. But Draco knew that as soon as Ames came home, he would know everything, and their friendship would be over within minutes. He let out a much needed sigh of frustration, and ran his hands through his hair, eyes closed.

After re-sealing the letter, he put it in the drawer in his desk where he left the rest of them. Draco had absolutely nothing to fill his time while waiting for graduation, and it was infuriatingly boring.

I need to find a hobby when I get back, he thought to himself.

Doing what he had for the last few nights, Draco got up from his desk, apparated near the steps of Gringotts, and was greeted by clear, crisp evening air.. Looking around at the streets, he noticed the little bit of sun in the west disappearing, dipping below the horizon. It was a little past eight o'clock and most of the shoppers aimlessly milling about were heading home.

Making his way down the street, he could see Weasley's Wizarding Wheezes towering over all the other stores, casting a looming shadow over the street. Draco's heart started to race with every heavy step he took, until his heart was drumming loudly, booming in his chest. He knew they were already closed, he wouldn't dare go there. Aurora might see him through the window. He exhaled shakily as he passed it and continued on his way, his pulse finally calming down as he got further and further away from it.

While walking, he reminisced from his schooldays when he would come and get fitted for his robes at Madame Malkins, getting books from Flourish and Blotts, and of course the memory of getting his first wand from Ollivanders popped into his head. He became slightly anxious, and he began to feel the familiar strumming in his chest as he neared the place Aurora lived, and knew she was probably there in that moment.

The very absence of her sent a flush of dread through Draco's mind, and he stopped in his tracks, becoming almost dizzy with the emotion welling up inside him.

Brushing the feeling away, locking it up and swallowing it down, he looked away and walked past as quickly as he could. Within the next few minutes, he reached his destination, the Leaky Cauldron.

Draco was met by the comforting atmosphere of a busy night at the pub, music reverberating around the room, glasses clinking onto bar tables, and scattered laughter. He saw there was only a couple seats available at the bar, and he made his way there.

After sitting down and ordering a Fire Whiskey, he looked down at his hands, letting out a heavy breath. He knew it probably wasn't a good idea to drown his sorrows in liquor, but he didn't really know of anything else that would get the job done. Taking a sip of the hard liquor, he winced. He would never get used to the burn in the back of his throat from the alcohol scorching down his throat.

Draco had never been a heavy drinker.

In his school days, none of it was really available to him, and over the summer, when he could get his hands on some, the thought of alcohol was never really on his mind. He was only introduced to it after he started Auror training. Remembering clearly the first night he had ever gotten drunk, Draco chuckled to himself.

It had been about a week into his training, and wanting to get to know him better, Ames invited him out with a few other more experienced trainees to a pub on the north side of London. After several drinks he could hardly stand, let alone talk normally, and everything felt foggy and distant. The next morning, he felt so sick he could hardly get out of bed. After the incident, however, he did learn to make the anti-hangover potion, which he thought was incredibly genius, of he said so himself.

Finishing off his first glass, he ordered another and let his eyes gaze around the bar. From the last few days he noticed that there were a good amount of regulars, and a few newbies here and there. Draco figured it was because of the increasing amount of death and sadness that the war produced. Some of them were just normal people like him trying to find comfort in seemingly endless glasses of ale and firewhiskey, a simple solution of avoiding problems no one could fix. It never occurred to Draco that one day he would be one of them.

The next few hours he had a couple more drinks and he decided to leave before he got too drunk to remember where he lived. It was at least midnight and the streets of Diagon Alley were dark, empty, and unwelcoming. Not having the best judgment at the time, he decided to walk by Aurora's apartment one last time before he would leave for his mission.

Standing in front of Ollivander's, he found himself looking up to where her apartment was, a light shining through the darkness of the night. He wondered what she was still doing up. She had work the next day, didn't she?

Perhaps she already found someone new, he thought to himself.

Pushing the almost sickening thought away, Draco disapparatedto his bedroom with a crack. Upon arriving, he put on his pajamas and laid in his bed before sleep took him over.

. . .

**Saturday, July 2st, 1999**

Putting on her sparkly green flats to match her simple, emerald colored dress, Aurora was beginning to dread the next few hours. It was the day of the Auror trainee's graduation; she was going to support her friends Ron and Harry. She didn't really want to go, but she knew her friends wanted her to be there, and after she reluctantly gave in, she realized the after party at Harry and Ginny's flat would be fun, at least.

Crossing her fingers that the ceremony would be short, she apparated to Weasley's Wizarding Wheezes to meet George, Angelina, Hermione, and Ginny so they could all go together. When she arrived, everyone was there except Ginny. It was not surprising, she was known for being late.

"Hey Aurora." Angelina said casually, when Aurora arrived.

"So now we're just waiting for Ginny? Typical." George said.

"Hey! Be nice. She's probably just getting ready." Hermione defended.

"She better be just getting ready." He shot back at her, his eyes narrowing.

"Oh George, calm down." Angelina shushed him, willing him with her dark eyes.

For the next few minutes, they made small talk, as they just waited around for Ginny. The ceremony started at noon and it was already eleven thirty. They needed to get there soon if they wanted good seats.

Finally, Ginny poofed into the room.

"Hey guys, so sorry I'm late, my makeup just didn't look right the first few times." She said apologetically, laughing to herself.

George rolled his eyes.

"Well then, let's go. Meet in the ministry next to the fountain." George instructed with a curt nod.

They all apparated simultaneously, and Aurora popped into the ministry about a hundred yards from the fountain. She straightened her dress, making sure it still looked okay after apparating twice in such a short period of time.

The ministry was full of the family and friends of the trainees making their way to the Auror department. Arriving at the fountain, the group made their way to the elevators and went in, followed by the sea of people apparently with the same destination.

Aurora tapped her foot while waiting in the elevator. She knew that in the next half hour, she would be in the same room as the man who had so recently broke her heart. She really hoped he didn't know she would be there or magically didn't see her; Aurora was almost certain she wouldn't be able to bear it if their eyes met.

As they got off the elevator, they went to where everyone else seemed to be headed. Entering the ceremony room, Aurora gasped audibly with shock.

The room was almost as large and vast as the main floor, and it almost had the illusion of going on forever. In the front there was a wide, polished stage, where Aurora figured the trainees would receive their diploma or certificate or something from Auror training. It was decorated with large, colorful, towering balloons, and bright streamers enchanted so that they would be continuously waving and rippling throughout the room. It held Aurora's gaze in awe.

The trainees were not in the room yet, and she was glad to see the ceremony hadn't started yet. They quickly, after a little confusion, found okay seats near the front and sat down. Aurora sat comfortably in-between Angelina and Hermione.

"You're coming to the after party right, Aurora?" Angelina asked her.

"Yeah, of course."

"Good, it'll be fun." Angelina said smiling. She had been looking after Aurora the past few days. Understanding how hard the break up was on her, she had been trying to get Aurora to get out more often and maybe even meet someone new. They had gone to a muggle club the night before, but there was no luck with any new guys.

"I'm sure it will be." Aurora replied reassuringly.

"You know there will be a few other new graduates, some of Ron and Harry's friends. Hopefully some of them will be cute." Angelina said with a playful smile, trying to spark her interest.

"We'll see." She said and laughed.

"Why Angelina, you wouldn't be trying to corrupt our sweet little Aurora would you?" George said, a smile breaking through his features.

"Of course not, if she wants to hook up with someone, it's totally not my choice. But if it happens, hey," Angelina said innocently.

"I will not be hooking up with anyone tonight." Aurora said with finality.

"Whatever you say." Angelina laughed.

They all fell silent as the head of the Auror Training Department, Phil Montgomery, a forty or so year old man with thinning hair, came onto the stage and all the lights dimmed a bit.

"Good afternoon ladies and gentlemen. Today is a very special day for all thirty six of our trainees; they have all worked especially hard for the last four months. I am very proud of each and every one of them, and I know they will all do their best on each and every mission that is assigned to them in the future. Without further ado, let's get this graduation started," Phil said proudly.

With that Phil stepped back a foot, said some type of enchantment, and waved his wand. Thirty six golden rolls of parchment were suspended in the air in a hovering column. The trainees came up alphabetically.

They would walk up, shake hands with Phil, and receive their diploma. Afterward they would get off the stage and sit in a row designated to them. It was all very simple.

And so one by one, the boys came up first.

Aurora was getting more and more anxious as each trainee went up. She knew that in mere moments she would see Draco for the first time since she saw him in that fateful, compromising position that was almost psychically painful for her to remember. In fact, she wondered if the woman had come to support him.

Then the moment she was dreading all morning long happened.

Phil called out his name, and she saw him walk out. He looked just as heartbreakingly handsome as he always had, and Aurora swallowed the lump in her throat. Angelina put her hand on Aurora's as a comforting touch. Seconds after Draco was handed his diploma he looked at the crowd for just a moment, happiness present on his face. In that one moment, of all the people his stare could land on, his grey eyes caught her own. His face fell instantaneously, and went from being happy, and relieved about graduating to sudden melancholy. Pulling his eyes away with a pained expression, he went and sat down with the rest of the graduates.

Aurora sighed and looked down at her hands. She couldn't wait for the whole ceremony to be over. She folded her hands together and wished for it to go by quicker.

A few more trainees later there was uproar of thunderous applause when Harry went to receive his diploma. She and the rest of their group clapped, whooped, and hollered, and the sound boomed around them. It was almost as big of a deal when Ron went up too, and Hermione had a great, big smile on her face when he winked at her from onstage.

Not soon enough, the ceremony was over and everyone was getting up and reuniting with the person they came to see. Harry and Ron quickly made their way to their group and greeted them. Feeling a little out of place since she wasn't really family or one of their girlfriends she just stood back for a bit.

"Aurora, would you want to come with us for lunch?" Ron asked her politely as the group started moving towards the doors.

"Yes, thank you. That would be lovely." Aurora smiled.

. . .

There she was, right there. Draco had tried not to look at Aurora as she stood with her group of friends, but his eyes kept gravitating towards her. When he saw her in the crowd, his heart literally skipped beat and he realized how much he had really missed her presence the past week.

It was scary how could he feel so much for someone he hadn't even known for that long. He looked away and shoved the thought of her aside; he didn't need that right now.

Draco lingered for a moment, and then he and his mother made their way to the door. It was rather crowded and people were Disapparating to get out of the mess. He would have already if he weren't with his mother.

A few days before Draco's mother had suggested that they have a big celebration for his going away and graduation, but he told her that he would need rest before he left. It was true that he would need rest, but he knew he wouldn't be in any sort of mood for one of the grand, luxurious parties his mother was known to throw.

After making it through the crowd of people, and back to the main floor, he knew it was time to say goodbye to his mother for a month.

"Oh Draco." She started, eyes already moist. "Do be careful on your mission, I don't know what I'd do if something were to happen to you." His mother said nervously.

"Mother, you know I'll be alright. I'll write to you as often as I can so you know I'm okay." Draco told her reassuringly.

"Alright, dear. Oh, I'm going to miss you." She said, tearing up.

"I'll miss you too mum, but I'll be back soon." He said into her shoulder as he hugged her. "It's only goodbye for now."

"Yes I suppose. Well goodbye Draco, love you. "Narcissa said, wiping a tear from her eye. With that she disapparated, most likely back to the manor.

Now Draco was alone, amongst the many large families supporting their graduate. He felt rather lonely among all of them. Wanting to get away from it all, he went home, knowing he needed to pack and such for his upcoming mission. To be honest he couldn't wait to leave and not have to think about Aurora.

. . .

After having lunch with her friends, Aurora went back to her apartment to kill time until the after party at Harry and Ginny's flat. She wasn't sure what to expect from Angelina, who said that there will be friends of Ron and Harry's there. Knowing it was Angelina's intention to find someone else, she internally cringed. She didn't want anyone else right now; she wasn't even beginning to get over Draco. The wound was still too fresh.

Seeing him earlier tugged at her heartstrings; she still felt the same about him even though she knew he had cheated on her. Towards the end, she had even started falling in love with him, and knowing that fact made Aurora feel even worse. Draco had almost been her first love.

Taking off her flats, Aurora sat down on her couch and sighed to herself.

The party didn't start until five o'clock and it was only two. She had three hours to kill. Figuring she didn't have much else to do she put a movie in to pass the time.

After the movie was over she had about a half an hour, and since she was already dressed to go she decided she would take a walk down Diagon Alley. Stepping out onto the cobblestoned street, she looked around at all the people going about their business. It was an extremely busy day for all shops on the street. She was glad she didn't have to work that day.

The streets were filled with families who had small children holding hands with their mothers, and fascinated by everything on display in the widows of stores. Secretly Aurora now wondered whether she would ever be one of them, pulling along her kids through the streets. She didn't see herself getting married and having children any time soon, simply because she didn't have anyone to do it with.

Aurora had been struggling with those kinds of thoughts lately. She now had doubts that she would find someone who would want to be with her forever.

How could she know who was good for her and who wasn't? She thought Draco was a really great guy, but she was wrong. How many more times would she have to be wrong to be right?

With her thoughts of doubt, loneliness had taken over. For the past few days she felt the loneliest, and emptiest she'd ever felt. All alone in her apartment, she was stuck with nothing but her own thoughts.

Trying to think of other things, Aurora looked at the little watch on her wrist. It was four fifty-seven. Perfect. She put her mind to the hallway outside Harry and Ginny's flat and disapparated precisely outside the door. That was pretty good, considering she had only been there once a few months ago.

Smoothing out her dress, Aurora walked up to the front door and knocked three times. Moments later, a smiling Ginny greeted her.

"Hello, Aurora come on in."

"Thank you," Aurora said as she walked in, before noticing that all of her friends were already there. The flat was just as she had remembered it, a very clean and expensive looking. The furniture was plush and looked very luxurious.

Going into the living room where the rest of them were she sat down on a couch next to Angelina, who was surprisingly not sitting with George.

"Hey Aurora! Glad you could make it." Angelina said sincerely.

"Thanks for inviting me." Aurora replied.

Throughout the next twenty minutes more and more people arrived. Most of them were friends of Harry and Ron from Hogwarts, but a few of them were fellow Aurors. Aurora didn't recognize any of them.

Soon everyone broke off into their own groups and Aurora was standing in a group with Angelina, Ron, and Hermione. They were having an ongoing conversation about their school days. With Aurora being the only one in the group who went to Beaux batons, naturally they were curious.

"Were there really as many veela as people say there are?" Ron asked earning an annoyed look from Hermione.

"Well, there were a few in each year but no, there weren't nearly as many as people expect." Aurora explained.

"So how did you end up going to Beaux batons instead of Hogwarts? I know your brother went there." Hermione asked, trying to steer the conversation from veela.

"I'm not really sure. He got his letter from Hogwarts, and I got one from Beauxbatons."

"That's curious, you would think that both of you would go to Hogwarts." Hermione said, obviously starting to mull it over in her mind.

"I know. When he got his letter, I figured that's where I would be going, but I was wrong. I'm glad I went to Beauxbatons though. It was a good experience and I met some good friends." Aurora said. She rarely ever talked about Beauxbatons; it only brought back memories of Georgina.

"I couldn't imagine going anywhere but Hogwarts." Ron said with a smile.

In another hour or so, Aurora was sitting next to Ginny on the couch, and they were sitting across from Harry and another Auror named Michael. He seemed alright. Angelina was giving her hinting looks from the kitchen in-between words with Lee Jordan and George.

"So Michael, what made you want to become an Auror?" A very social Ginny asked.

"Before the war, I had already graduated from Hogwarts, and I wasn't sure what I wanted to do, so I just worked at the ministry for a while as an assistant. But after the war, I figured out that I had hardly done my part, so I knew it was what I needed to do." Michael explained.

"You were the oldest of the class weren't you?" Harry asked him, getting into the conversation.

"Surprisingly yes, I'm only twenty one." He told them.

"Have there been many women entering training lately?" Aurora asked.

"There were two in the class before us, but there really hasn't been that many, unfortunately." Michael said.

"That's too bad; I'd love to see more women out there." Ginny added.

Even though Michael was cute, with his short brown hair and hazel eyes, Aurora really didn't think twice about him. She knew that Angelina would be closely watching her whole conversation, anyway.

"I would too. It would be nice to see women out there helping out right along with the men." Aurora expressed.

"Well even though there have been more trainees than any other point in time, women really haven't been stepping in." Michael included.

"Maybe we need to recruit some then." Harry said, while laughing.

"Definitely. So Michael, do you have a girlfriend?" Ginny asked him, sounding very interested.

Aurora cringed inside; apparently Ginny was in on the plan too.

"Not at the moment, no. I'm not really looking for one since I'll be leaving for soon." He replied, obviously referring to an upcoming mission.

"Oh I see. It seems like all of you are leaving quite soon after graduation. They must really need all of your help." Ginny said, with just a twinge of sadness in her tone.

"They do," Harry butted in, and "They want to get rid of the remaining Death Eaters as quickly as possible."

"That makes sense. If they have enough people to do it, why not?" Aurora said.

"Exactly." Michael said.

After the party had died down, and there were only a few of Harry and Ron's friends left, Aurora was playing a card game with Ginny and Angelina at the kitchen table. It was a little past ten o'clock and after a long day, Aurora was pretty tired.

"Aha! Gotcha!" Ginny said as she laid down an ace on the table.

"Ugh not again. Are you sure you didn't enchant these cards?" Angelina questioned her, accusingly.

"No, of course not! I'm just too good for you guys," Ginny taunted and laughed.

As Aurora laid her cards down from another loss, Ginny dealt out another hand to each of them. While looking over her not so good of a hand, a bit of the boys' conversation caught her ear.

"Did you guys hear what Michael was talking about earlier about Malfoy?" Ron said.

"No, what did he do?" George said, looking over at Aurora making sure she wasn't looking at them or listening in. Being from an all-girl school, Aurora had perfected the art of eavesdropping. She didn't seem at all interested in the conversation, and focused her eyes on the cards in front of her.

"Apparently he's already turned in a death eater last week, and you'll never guess who." Ron said, now a little less impolite about Draco.

"Who?" Harry asked, now interested.

"Pansy Parkinson. Apparently she still thought he was on their side, and showed up at his house. God knows how she knew where he lived. I'm not sure of the whole story, but supposedly, she tried to put the moves on him, and he refused her. She left, he reported her back to the Auror office minutes later." Ron summarized. Aurora had to use all of her might to not let her jaw drop at the news.

"She really isn't that smart." George concluded.

"Yeah, I think I might have a little respect for him now." Ron admitted.

"Never thought I'd hear you say that. He's actually leaving as early as tomorrow morning for his mission, they must think pretty highly of him." Harry said.

Shocked, delighted, and almost dizzy with relief by what she heard, Aurora knew she had to see him. And what with him leaving tomorrow, it had to be tonight.


	10. Goodnight and Goodbye

**Yay! Tenth Chapter! Honestly it's taken too long to get to this point… I would like to thank Residentevil06 and Kipling7 for reviewing :)**

Thoughts racing through her mind, Aurora helplessly tried to figure out a way to get out of the party without her friends being curious as to why she would leave in such a rush. Looking at her hand of cards she tried to hide her anxiousness to get to Draco as quickly as she could.

She decided to play it cool and not risk making up some lie about why she needed to leave in a rush.

"Well guys I'm quite tired, it's been a long day I'm going to head home." Aurora said coolly as she laid down her cards and got up from the table.

"Are you sure? We haven't even brought out the firewhiskey yet." Ginny asked.

"Oh Ginny you know I don't really drink." Aurora said teasingly.

"That's true. Well have a good night." Ginny said and waved her goodbye.

"Goodnight Aurora I'll see you Monday." Angelina said, obviously suspicious of her early departure.

"Night guys." Aurora said finally before she apparated to a block away from Draco's home, the same place she had apparated to the night she thought he cheated on her.

"Nice job, Ron. Idiot." Angelina said to the youngest brother of her boyfriend.

"What did I do?" He asked, oblivious of what he had just revealed.

"Why did you bring Malfoy up in front of Aurora? You know what happened." She said angrily at him.

"Did you even hear what I said?" Ron questioned her.

"Um, no but she was obviously upset about it." Angelina argued.

"I doubt that, I didn't really know if she would hear or not but pretty much what I revealed that he wasn't actually two timing her, Pansy showed up out of nowhere trying to seduce him and it didn't work." Ron said casually.

"And you didn't tell me or her before this, why?" She questioned.

"I thought she already knew." Ron said as he shrugged.

"Well Ronnie, your folly does not cease to surprise me." George said while shaking his head. Everyone else in the room was thoroughly entertained.

"At least I get to hear all about it Monday morning." Angelina teased.

"Ugh gross, why would I even want to have that mental image of Draco." George joked.

"I assure you that won't happen, no matter how happy Aurora will be to be back with him." Angelina said assuredly. She knew Aurora wasn't the type.

"Whatever you say." George said.

. . .

Aurora exhaled loudly. She made it out without incident. But now that she was out she realized she had no idea what she was going to say. The pavement under her feet was damp from the rain from an hour before, nervous, Aurora walked slowly to his house. She had no idea how he would react.

Knowing she wouldn't have much time since he was leaving the following morning she swallowed her nervousness and sped up her pace. Within minutes she was in front of the house. It was dark inside, except for there was a light on in the room she knew to be his office. He was still awake, good.

Anxiously Aurora went up to the door and knocked several times. She knew she couldn't just pop into his house; she was raised to be more polite than that.

Listening carefully she soon heard footsteps coming down the stairs, her heart started to race, she knew that within seconds she would be face to face with the man who had not in fact betrayed her.

In moments the door opened, and a stunned face Draco was suddenly right in front of her. He looked a bit disheveled, he was wearing his usual black button up shirt, the top two buttons were unbuttoned and his tie was slightly undone. His hair was a bit messy, but she had to admit he looked rather sexy.

"Aurora, what are you doing here?" Draco asked, still shocked and delighted to see her. Very unsure of why she was there he knew he should be cautious of what he said.

"Draco, I know what happened. Everything, I know about Pansy." She admitted.

"But, how?" He said, amazed at his luck that the woman he had been missing for what seemed like so long was telling him she understood he didn't betray her trust.

"Ron knew from one of the other trainees and he decided to spill the beans in front of me at the after party, I only just left. I know it's a little late but I just had to see you." She blurted out quickly. "I'm sorry I didn't let you explain."

"No, don't be. You did the right thing." Draco said, not sure of what else to say.

"So, what happens now?" She asked him, nervous that he had already moved on from her.

"Well we could go from where we left off, if you'll have me." Draco said, not sure if she would even want to get back with him after what she probably went through.

"I'd love to be with you again, Draco." She confessed, smiling big.

"That's… wonderful." Draco said, elated that she actually still wanted to be with him. "Do you want to come in?"

"That'd be great." Aurora said as she entered his cozy home as he closed the door behind her.

"There's something you should know, I'm leaving early tomorrow. I'll be gone for the next month." Draco winced and tensed up as he revealed, he didn't know if she would want to wait so long for him.

"I know, Ron also said that. It's alright, I'll be right here when you come back." Aurora said sweetly, she knew that she would wait as long as it took for him to come back; there was no way she could leave him.

Relieved and ecstatic that she was willing to do such a thing, not controlling himself he closed the distance between them and kissed her passionately.

Surprised at his sudden kiss, Aurora took a moment before kissing him back with equal passion and need. Draco's hands fell to her sides and hers around his neck. As their tongues slid against each other Draco ran his hand up her back.

Suddenly a thought popped into his mind, they had only just got back together, and the last time this sort of thing happened he had almost taken it too far. At this point he would stay at any pace she wanted.

"Draco, I know you need to leave early tomorrow morning so you'll need to get your sleep…" Aurora started.

"Aurora, its fine, you can stay the night, if you'd like so you can see me off in the morning." Draco suggested holding his breath from the somewhat suggestive question.

"I would like that, but if it's not too much to ask, could I not sleep on the couch this time?" Aurora asked a little more daringly. She knew she wasn't going to take it too far, but that didn't mean she couldn't enjoy the little time she had before he left.

"You mean, with me?" Draco asked, shocked that the sweet Aurora would want to stay in the same bed as him.

"If that's alright." She said shyly, now not quite so sure of herself.

"Yes, of course." Draco said, he really didn't know where she was intending to take this, he knew there was a limit to how far she would go but he didn't know what that limit was.

Taking her hand he led her up the stairs, which he had only done twice before to show her his office and his owl, which she had taken quite a liking to. She had never been in his bedroom; at the time he didn't think it was appropriate.

Walking in Aurora noticed the soft carpet beneath her feet and the green walls surrounding her. The bed had a mahogany frame and matching green comforter. It was grander than she had expected. The air felt awkward for a moment but after Draco dimmed the lights a bit, she felt more comfortable.

"Would you like to borrow a pair of pajama pants?" He asked shyly, not wanting her to have to sleep in her day clothes.

"Yes, that would be lovely." Aurora said, thankfully.

Draco went to his closet at the other end of the room and took out a pair of plaid flannel pants and politely handed them to her. After giving her them he went to the bathroom to change into his pajamas.

While he was gone, she took her dress off and put the pants on, she was glad she decided to wear a camisole under her dress so she wouldn't be so revealed in a bra.

Now that she was alone she felt a little shy about the situation, this would be the first time she was in bed with a man; although they wouldn't be having sex it was still a big moment for her. She waited anxiously for a moment or two, but when he entered back into the room she didn't feel nervous anymore.

His pajamas consisted of blue flannel pants and no shirt. It was dark but she could see the outlines of his muscles. Draco sparked a feeling in her she hadn't felt before in her life, maybe it was something Angelina described as being turned on.

"Are you sure you're ok with this?" Draco asked before he got into the bed with her.

"Yes." She said quietly. Shortly after Draco got under the covers and shamelessly wrapped his arms around her.

His arms were muscular and strong, she felt safe in his arms, like nothing in the world could hurt her.

After a few minutes of silence, Draco realized that he couldn't just waste the time he had left with her just sleeping.

"Aurora?" Draco whispered.

"Hmm?" Aurora replied, just as awake as he was.

"I've missed you." He admitted, it was true; his life hadn't been the same without her. To be honest, it was terrible.

Aurora's heart melted at his words. "I missed you too." She said as she turned to face him. The moonlight was the only source of light in the room; she could barely see the features of his face.

Before she knew it his lips were pressed against hers while the muscular arms wrapped around her pulled her closer to him. Returning the kiss, Aurora rested her hands on his bare chest. His skim was warm against her shaky hands.

Draco deepened the kiss as his hands explored her covered back, not feeling daring enough to go just a few inches lower to her bottom. He pulled her closer to him until there was no room left for her hands; Aurora moved them to around his neck.

Every bit of nervousness leaving her, Aurora put one of her legs over his and ran her fingers through his light blonde hair. Chills ran down his spine as this new more daring Aurora took charge. Slowly he took his chances and moved his right hand to her bottom. Her backside was plump and perfectly round.

Aurora was taken aback by the bold movement of his hand at first but it really only made her more comfortable with the situation. The kiss was becoming more passionate and needy as time wore on.

Suddenly Draco felt an all too familiar sensation, within seconds he felt himself harden. He winced internally knowing that since there was no distance between them Aurora would immediately feel his stiffness. Trying to ignore it, he continued on without recognizing it.

Aurora soon felt something pressing against her lower stomach; she knew instantly what it was. Blushing slightly, she was quite flattered. She herself was starting to get that new feeling in her most private place. It was a feeling of need and passion. The feeling made her inhibitions run and hide. She knew that if this continued, she might go further than she wanted to.

Pulling away from his kiss she brushed her hair back nervously.

"Do you want to stop?" Draco asked politely.

Suddenly shy again, Aurora nodded her head and turned back to her original position. Replacing his arms around her he had to admit to himself he was a little disappointed, even though he knew it wasn't going to go anywhere a certain part of his body sure wanted it too. But, he respected and cared for Aurora too much to be angry.

"Is something wrong?" He asked her making sure it was nothing he did.

"No, not at all… I'm sorry." She apologized knowing that he would've probably wanted to go further.

"Don't apologize, it's alright. We don't have to go further if you're not comfortable with it." He said honestly.

"Thank you. But, can I ask you kind of a personal question?" She asked warily.

"Anything." He answered, truly interested in what she was going to ask.

"I wanted to know if you were a… um… a virgin?" She asked nervously afraid of the answer.

Draco winced, he knew this question would come up at some point but he really wasn't sure how he could tell her without hurting her, but he knew that wasn't possible.

"No, I'm not." Draco said nervously, anxious for her reaction.

"Oh." That's all she could say. She was not really surprised, just disappointed. Now she had more questions whirling around in her head like, how many women? Since when? Was the first Pansy? When was the last time?

"I'm sorry; I know it's not what you wanted to hear." He said, genuinely remorseful.

"No, it's alright. I just wanted to know." She said in a quiet voice.

"It's not as bad as you might think, it was only once and it was a long time ago in my school days. I would take it back if I could." He said trying to make her feel better.

Still a little hurt, Aurora sighed. "Oh, ok. I'm glad you told me the truth." She concluded.

To be honest, he was glad that she was a virgin. He couldn't imagine her doing that with someone else, it actually made him sick to his stomach. Secretly, he wondered if he would be her first. He relieved to have told her that he wasn't a virgin; it was no longer hanging over him.

"I'm relieved that you know now." He said. After a few moments of her not replying he was worried she was angry with him. "Aurora?" He called to her. No response. Looking over her he realized that she had simply fallen asleep. She looked peaceful and beautiful as she slept.

Minutes later he joined her in peaceful slumber.

. . .

**Sunday, July 3****rd****, 1999**

Aurora awoke to the sound of birds chirping and rays of sunlight filtering in the room. Noticing that she was alone in the bed, she sat up and stretched. She looked over at the clock and it was nine o'clock. She couldn't be happier in that moment. The question of where Draco had gone to was answered by the sound of the shower in the bathroom.

Looking out the window she could see blue sky and only a few clouds. Also she could see Draco's muggle neighbors in their backyard playing with their children. It seemed like the perfect life.

Lying back down on the bed, Aurora stretched out and laid her head on Draco's pillow. It smelled just like him. Hearing the shower turn off, her heart fluttered. There was no doubt in her mind now; she was indeed falling in love with Draco. All the hurt she felt within the past week was erased in one night.

Sitting up again, she decided she better get dressed again before he came back into the room. After slipping her dress back on she looked into the mirror on the wall by the bed. Combing her fingers through her hair, she heard the bathroom door open and turned around. Her heart skipped a beat when she saw Draco standing there in his usual dressy button up shirt, tie, and dress pants. He was so handsome.

"Good morning." He greeted her as he smiled and adjusted his tie.

"Morning." Aurora replied and smiled.

"Would you like some breakfast?" He asked her closing the distance between them.

"Yes, that would be great." She replied as he took her hand. They went downstairs into the kitchen and began making a breakfast of pancakes and bacon.

For Aurora, it felt so normal and comfortable to just be waking up and making breakfast with Draco. The past week and the night before changed something in their relationship, they both realized how much they actually grew to care about each other and sleeping in the same bed grew trust.

Sitting at the kitchen table with their breakfast, it suddenly hit Draco that he would be leaving in less than an hour for a month. Now that he had Aurora back in his life he didn't want to leave. Their romance still seemed so new, he didn't want her to forget how she felt about him.

"Can you tell me where you're going?" Aurora asked, as if she was reading his mind.

"I wish I could, but I can't. All I can say is it's not that far." He said hinting at his location, it was true that it wasn't that far away, hell he could apparate there if he put his mind to it.

"Will you be able to send letters like Ames does?" She asked.

"Yes, I think so. If I use Lucille maybe you could even write back." He said hopefully. Since his mission wasn't too high profile he thought it wouldn't be a problem.

"Hopefully, I wish I could do that with Ames. I feel like I haven't talked to him in ages since he left over a month ago." Aurora said taking another bite of bacon.

"I'll try my best to contact you." Draco said trying to reassure her.

"I won't mind if you can't, I wouldn't want to jeopardize your safety by revealing your position." She told him.

"Yes, that would be the only risk of sending letters but I don't know what I would say to you that would reveal anything of the mission, I would be sacked if I did." Draco explained.

"Well then there shouldn't be a problem." Aurora smiled.

Draco's stomach dropped when he looked at the clock noticing it was time for him to leave. He swallowed the last bite of his breakfast and got up hesitantly.

"Is it time?" Aurora asked sadly meeting his eyes.

"Yes." He replied as she got up, waved her wand for the dishes to clean themselves, and went to the other side of the table to him.

Not hesitating he took her in his arms and kissed her. After a minute or so of just embracing and kissing her, he knew he needed to leave.

"I have to go now. I'll see you as soon as I can. Goodbye Aurora." Draco said, trying not to make it too official of a goodbye.

"See you soon." Aurora replied as he let go of her. A moment later he disapparated to the ministry.

Aurora sighed and looked around the now empty house. She finished cleaning the dishes with magic and hesitantly left for her apartment.

Locking the door behind her she took off her flats and went to her bathroom. Her hair was slightly messy and she laughed as she noticed how bad she actually looked. The makeup she had put on the day before had left dark gray circles around her eyes. Turning on the shower on high heat she undressed and got in.

While washing her hair she knew that on Monday she would have to explain everything that happened to Angelina. There was no doubt by the look on her face as she left that Angelina knew exactly where she was going. As long as she knew Draco was innocent of all two timing charges, Aurora knew that Angelina wouldn't care if they were back together.

Getting out of the shower Aurora decided she just wanted to lounge around that day so she brushed her hair and put on a t-shirt and sweatpants. Picking up the book she had been currently reading off her coffee table she sat down on the couch and got lost in the book.


	11. The Lengthy Journeys of Lucille

_**Hey guys! I hoped you enjoyed the reuniting chapter as much as I liked writing it. Thank you to Residentevil06 and Beauty422 for reviewing! I'm trying out a poll on my page for this story so check it out! I can't believe I posted the first chapter a whole year ago!**_

**Sunday, July 3****rd****, 1999 (Same Day)**

Popping into the Auror office at the ministry, Draco still had butterflies in his stomach from Aurora's company. With a new spring in his step he went directly to Phil Montgomery's office to begin his month long mission. He had no idea what to expect.

Arriving in the oversized office, Phil was waiting for him at his desk looking over some papers. This mission would just be another of the hundreds he had done, but for Draco it was the most important because it would tell if he would be a valuable Auror to have around.

"Ah, Draco. Just on time." Phil said as he put the pages he was reading down. "Are you ready?"

"As ready as I'll ever be." Draco told him honestly.

"First we will apparate to where we are staying then discuss precisely what our tactics are for the next few weeks." Phil explained.

Draco nodded. Phil put his hand on Draco's shoulder and he felt that familiar squeezing and sick feeling of apparition. A moment later he popped into what seemed to be a cabin sort of home. The walls and floor were all wood and from what he could see were two bedrooms, a kitchen, a bathroom, and a living room.

Knowing they would only be there to eat and sleep he hardly cared what it looked like. He could see his suitcase and a familiar bird cage with Lucille in it in the bedroom he assumed would be his.

Phil took out a map from his pocket and spread it out on the table. Draco went over to him to look over the map.

"We're here." Phil pointed to a little dot on the map. "Hogwarts and Hogsmeade are here." He pointed a few inches to the right.

"The reason why we are here is because we were tipped off that Fenrir Greyback and Antonin Dolohov are working together a few miles from here. It is not clear why they are working together or their exact location." Phil explained to him as he surveyed the map.

"They both have similar backgrounds when it comes to motive, from what I remember Dolohov being a cruel man with no regards toward women. And of course there are numerous accounts of Greyback sexually assaulting women." Draco said, trying to recall memories of Dolohov.

"Do you think it could be the reason they are working together?" Phil asked.

"I can't be sure. They have more similarities that might've caused them to team up. Either way they would be very destructive together." Draco said, thinking about the close proximity to Hogwarts. Their target couldn't be the students, could it?

"That's for sure; there has been two known deaths of muggles in the area. No doubt their work." Phil informed him.

"How could you tell?" Draco asked almost not wanting to know.

"The victims were both young women, both sexually assaulted, and killed by the killing curse." Phil told him sadly.

"That sounds like Greyback alright. Do you think the close proximity to the school has something to do with their location?" Draco asked.

"Unfortunately yes. I think they're looking for revenge and kids are the easiest target. School hasn't started yet and it seems like a good time to nip this in the bud." Phil explained.

"They will be very powerful together considering the dark magic Dolohov knows and Greyback being a werewolf." Draco said. He was doubtful that the two of them would be able to take them out on their own.

"That is true, but also the reason that when we do find them we will send for backup and prepare to attack them and capture or kill them." Phil said bluntly.

"Where do we start?" Draco asked.

. . .

**Monday, July 4****th****, 1999**

Aurora yawned as she walked into Weasley's Wizarding Wheezes at seven in the morning for another long day of work. No matter how much sleep she had gotten the night before Aurora was always exhausted when it came time to go to work.

After turning on all the lights, Aurora went back to the storage room to restock the store for the next few days. One of the good things about working at WWW was business was always good, there was rarely a time when they weren't busy. Aurora knew that she wouldn't work there forever; eventually she wanted to own her own store. A bookstore perhaps.

Going through the store while restocking the shelves and shelves of potions and prank toys, Aurora thought to herself about Draco's whereabouts. She was honestly worried for his safety knowing the ways of death eaters and the people associated with them. Draco knew what he was doing, surely. He had months of training, Aurora hoped that it would be enough to keep him safe.

She hadn't expected to hear from him yet knowing he was probably settling in to where he was and planning out a plan of action, her brother Ames took at least a week to contact her. Somehow she was less worried about Ames now that he had been gone over a month and she knew nothing bad had happened to him.

After a while she heard the familiar squeak of George's office door and the sounds of footsteps on the stairs. Moments later a fresh faced Angelina came into view.

"Good morning." Angelina greeted her as she walked over to her.

"Morning, how are you this fine day?" Aurora asked cheerfully.

"I'm great, how are you?" She replied as she began helping her restock.

"Wonderful." Aurora said while smiling.

"So, are you going to spill about Saturday night?" Angelina asked playfully.

"I don't know what you're talking about." Aurora teased while placing love potions in the shape of a heart.

"Don't be coy; we both know you heard Ron." Angelina stated.

"Indeed I did hear him." Aurora continued avoiding the subject playfully.

"Oh come on just tell me what happened, there's nothing I can't handle." Angelina said honestly.

"Nothing really happened, I mean I went over there we made up and that's it." Aurora said not wanting to reveal the more intimate part of the night.

"What do you mean that's it? You're telling me you didn't do anything?" Angelina asked as if surprised she didn't do anything that sexual with him.

"Yes, I'm telling you we didn't do anything like you're suggesting." Aurora explained.

"Ok, I believe you. I'm glad you're not rushing into things." She admitted.

"Thank you. I appreciate your support." Aurora said while finishing up stocking the shelves.

"You're welcome, you know as much as George doesn't like to admit it, he's glad you're happy with Draco." Angelina revealed. "I think he's realized that he's not the same boy he was when we were in school."

"Well that's good, I'm glad I don't have to really hide anything with him then." Aurora said, relieved.

"Doesn't mean he's not going to tease you about it." Angelina laughed.

"That goes without saying." Aurora snickered with her.

"And what is so funny, aren't you both supposed to be working?" George said as he sauntered in.

"We are working! We've finished restocking." Angelina argued lightheartedly.

"Yes, but you never told me what was funny." George toyed.

"Oh nothing." Aurora said.

"Fine then." George said giving up.

Since it was a little past opening time customers began coming in and the three had to stop conversing and actually start working. On Mondays Aurora worked at the cash register, she found it to be a rather tedious job. The only part she liked about it was that she didn't have to clean up any messes. Usually.

That day business was rather slow and there was hardly ever a line at the register. By the time six o clock rolled around Aurora was glad to leave. She said her goodbyes to Angelina and George and headed for home.

Upon arriving at Ollivander's she observed two young twins buying their first wands. Just as she walked in one of them shattered the glass on the mirror adjacent to the register. This had happened many times over the course of the year she had been living there. It was always a fifty percent chance something was broken.

Aurora made her way up to her solitary apartment, and opened the door to a pleasant surprise. Draco's owl Lucille was sitting on the window frame above her kitchen sink with a letter in her beak.

Smiling Aurora quickly went over to the bird, petted her head and took the letter. Her hands trembling with excitement she opened the letter.

_Aurora,_

_Hello darling, I just wanted to tell you that I made it here alright and that it will be safe for us to send letters back and forth. I already miss you and can't wait until I return home._

_ Love,_

_ Draco_

Aurora's heart melted at him calling her 'darling'. His letter was short and sweet, it made her day to know that he was safe. Without hesitation she wrote a little longer of a letter back to him. She gave it to the owl and opened the window for her to deliver it.

. . .

Draco lay exhausted in his designated bed after a long day of mapping and searching out the area around them. There was no sign of Greyback or Dolohov, they probably didn't look far enough out yet. They must've searched at least five miles out each way for any sort of clue.

At around lunch time he was able to quickly scribble a letter to Aurora to make sure she knew he was alright. It was important to him for her to be able to trust that he alright, now having to worry about two Aurors, her brother and him. There were so many protective barriers around the cabin he would be amazed if Lucille could find it again easily.

It must've been around midnight. The moon was shining through the window onto the floor. There was no sound except for the faint snoring coming from the other room.

Honestly, Draco was nervous for when they did find the two death eaters. He knew they were both very dangerous and together they were a deadly weapon. They would have others with them no doubt, less powerful death eaters probably.

After another few minutes of contemplating the mission, Draco gave in to his exhaustion and fell asleep.

**Tuesday, July 5****th****, 1999 **

Draco awoke early in the morning to the sound of birds chirping and the sun shining through the window. Almost immediately after waking up he noticed a letter sitting on his side table and Lucille back in her cage dozing. She must've come back sometime in the night.

Rubbing his eyes and sitting up he took the letter in his hands and read the familiar dainty scrawl on the outside of the envelope. It was from Aurora.

_Draco,_

_I'm so glad to hear from you and to know that you are safe. I miss you already too. I hope this letter didn't wake you up, it is rather late. Are you doing alright so far? Everything here is the same as usual. I hope you stay safe and return soon. _

_ Love,_

_Aurora_

Smiling he folded it back up and set it on his bedside table. Knowing he couldn't respond to her at the moment he hoped she wouldn't get too worried if he didn't respond for a while.

After getting dressed, Draco left the bedroom out into the kitchen. Phil was already eating a simple breakfast of cereal and looking over numerous papers.

"We're going to find something today, I can feel it." Phil said as he intently read through old documents.

"I hope so; there isn't that much area to look through. There must be something close." Draco commented as he poured himself a bowl of cereal.

"I'm not really sure what to look for at this point. Their headquarters is most likely an old abandoned home that no one knows of. That or they've set up some sort of camp." He suggested.

"They would definitely have a lot of protective barriers around it. Guards of some sort perhaps." Draco suggested.

Finishing up their breakfasts they cleaned up and started their day of searching just north of their headquarters. There was about a fifty mile radius around their cabin where they could possibly be. After getting to know the area a bit they could apparate around easily.

About an hour in they must've been ten miles from their headquarters and hadn't seen a thing. No trace of any sort of magic around. Basically their job was to rifle through every bit of woods for any type of evidence of Greyback and Dolohov's presence. After a full day of searching they would map out where they had been and what was in the area. It was a lot less eventful than Draco had envisioned.

**Monday, July 11th, 1999**

Almost a week later they still had found nothing. Draco wondered to himself if they would find something within the time slot originally given to them. He was anxious to find something and get it done so he could get home.

Arriving back to headquarters early one night he looked at the letter sent to him almost a week ago from Aurora that he had been too exhausted to respond to. Figuring this would be the only time he had he wrote a longer letter trying to put his feelings on paper. Easier said than done. When he was finished he let Lucille out of her cage and opened the window.

"Now don't wake her up if she's asleep, wait until morning." He told his owl as if she could understand what he was saying.

After closing his window, Draco lay on his bed under the quilts and blankets. For the first night he actually had time to think. Immediately his thoughts went to his last night with Aurora. When she had arrived he was glad he only had one drink. Who knows what he would've done if he had been drunk.

His cheeks flushed with embarrassment remembering his obvious sign of arousal. There was no way she didn't notice it, but she didn't pay it any mind or mention it. With Aurora if she didn't say when she wanted to stop, he wouldn't.

He knew he had to be careful with his advances towards her because she had never done anything like that before and he didn't want to scare her off. But right now he liked the pace they were going at, nothing was happening too soon.

Whenever he thought of her he felt a pang in his chest because he honestly missed her and wanted to get home to see her. He had never felt this way about someone, in his mind he knew he was quickly falling for her.

. . .

**Tuesday, July12th, 1999**

In the early hours of the morning, Aurora lay restless in her bed. She must've only gotten a few hours of sleep before waking from a terrible nightmare. Since it had been almost a week since Draco replied to her last letter she was becoming more and more worried by the day. Even though she knew he was busy and probably didn't have a lot of time to contact her, she still worried for his safety.

This was the same way she had reacted when Ames first left. He was the only family she had left and couldn't bare losing him. Over time her concern faded, Ames knew what he was doing and so did Draco. They were both equally trained. But still, Death Eaters were ruthless and didn't care who they hurt or killed.

Knowing she wouldn't be getting back to sleep anytime soon, Aurora got up from her bed and went to the kitchen. The little window above her sink had shown the empty streets of Diagon Alley. There was always the occasional drunk stumbling down the street but not tonight. It was a cloudy night so the streets were almost completely black.

As she put a kettle of water on the stove for tea, Aurora yawned. It was going to be a long three weeks.

While drinking her tea and flipping through late night channels, Aurora settled on a muggle cop show. Though she was familiar with how criminals were caught in the muggle world, non muggle born witches and wizards would be utterly confused about how it worked. Some wizards said that the technology that was being used was similar to magic. Not quite.

Being muggle born had its advantages; she knew what muggles were like and how they lived. Knowing so much about muggles made it easier to hide magic from them. It was honestly amazing they didn't discover their world during the war considering the damage done by Voldemort and his death eaters.

After finishing her tea, Aurora decided to try and get some sleep. She definitely needed to make a sleeping draught after work. She could get all the ingredients from across the street anyways. Thinking about the long day she had ahead of her she persuaded herself into sleep.

At precisely six thirty in the morning Aurora's alarm clock beeped loudly in her ear. She rolled over and groaned. Exhausted from lack of sleep, Aurora could barely pull herself out of bed to the shower. She turned the water on high heat and got in.

The nearly scalding water flowed over her fatigued body. She slowly woke up while washing her hair.

After lazily putting on her uniform, Aurora finished getting ready and headed off to work.

. . .

With nearly two hours left of her shift, Aurora yawned as she stood in the stock room taking note of what products they were low on. She had nearly fallen asleep during her break. It was good that she was just working the stock room and retrieving potion ingredients for George that day, she would've fallen asleep at the register.

George had been extremely busy that day with making potions and other various products so he didn't notice the change in her usually lively behavior. Angelina hadn't been around most of the day because she had felt sick.

In her place, Ginny came to help out behind the counter. Aurora always enjoyed Ginny's company; she was always friendly and rather amusing. Neither Harry nor Ron had left for a mission yet, she figured it would be soon though; they were both highly respected in the Auror department.

At around three o clock Angelina came downstairs to the store.

Checking off the last of the products on the list, Aurora posted the list on the clipboard next to the door. She finished in perfect time for her next break. The break room seemed so inviting to an exhausted Aurora.

When she went in Ginny was sitting on the couch reading a fashion magazine and eating an orange. Aurora sat down on the adjacent couch and tried to relax a bit.

Noticing Aurora enter the room Ginny looked over to her and saw the obvious dark circles around her eyes. "Are you ok?" She asked.

Sighing and opening her eyes, Aurora replied. "No, I'm exhausted. I've hardly slept the past few days."

"Why not?" Ginny asked while putting down her magazine. Over the past week the rest of her friends knew the basics of her and Draco getting back together. At this point they all had accepted the fact that they were together.

"I know it's only been a week, but I'm just so worried about Draco." Aurora admitted as she ran her fingers through her hair.

"I understand, but he knows what he's doing." Ginny attempted to comfort her.

"Yeah, I know. I just can't help thinking of all the things that could happen." She told her.

"It's hard not to think about it, trust me, I know. I'll probably be acting the same as you when Harry leaves. I'm still not sure how I made it through my sixth year while no one knew where they were or if they were still alive." Ginny said, opening up to her.

"It's alright when I hear from him but I haven't for almost a week. But I know I would get some sort of notification if something did happen to him." Aurora said trying to convince herself everything was ok. "I'm sure I'll feel better about it in time, which was the case when my brother left."

"I'm sure after the first mission you'll feel more comfortable with it. I know that no matter what I'll always be worried but it lessens over time." Ginny assured her.

"Do you know when Harry will be leaving?" Aurora asked.

"In a couple weeks. He can't tell me where though. The mission itself is supposed to last a little more than a month, but that's always just an estimate. When they complete the job they were assigned to do they can come home. But that rarely happens earlier than the time estimate." Ginny explained her knowledge of the Auror system.

"That makes sense." Aurora concluded.

"I better get back to work, Angelina still feels a little sick so I should go help her. You get some rest tonight." Ginny advised her.

"Alright see you later." Aurora said as she closed her eyes again to rest.

Aurora hoped that Ginny was right and she would feel less worried after the first mission was over with.

. . .

Finally when her shift was over, Aurora quickly packed up her things and left. She tried to get through the streets of Diagon Alley as efficiently as she could.

Ollivander was busy at work helping a woman whose wand had been broken. She said hello and passed them up the stairs and into her apartment. She sighed in relief as she set her bag down carelessly and went to her bedroom for a nap.

Hours later, Aurora woke up and felt well rested. Looking at the clock she noticed it was nine o clock. Even though she had taken a long nap she knew she would still get a full night of sleep. Getting up from her bed she stretched a bit and decided she should probably eat something.

As she walked into her kitchen she was shocked and elated to see the familiar sight of Draco's owl sleeping on her window sill with a letter lying on the floor. She quickly ran over and picked it up. The handwriting on the back addressing the letter to her was obviously Draco's.

Aurora sighed in relief. Finally she knew that he was alright. With her hands shaking she opened the letter with care.

_Aurora,_

_First I want to say that I'm so sorry for not responding for five days, I'm ok, we've just been working all hours of the day and there's little to no time to write. Everything is going fine, right now were not in any sort of danger. I miss you so much. The first thing I want to do when I get home is see you. Don't be alarmed if I don't respond within a week everything is ok._

_ Love,_

_ Draco_

Aurora's heart soared with joy as she reread the letter. She was so relieved that he was ok that every worry she had was gone. His sweet words gave her butterflies in her stomach.

Wanting to let the owl rest from its long journey Aurora decided to wait until morning to send back. Sitting down at her kitchen table she went to work writing a reply. Knowing she wouldn't get to speak to him much she tried to get everything she wanted to say down on paper.


	12. Parties and Progress

**Hello. First I want to say that I know the chapters where Draco is gone will be a little dry; I'm trying to make them more interesting. Thank you again to Beauty422 for reviewing! Another thing is that I've started school again so I'll still be uploading just not as much.**

**Tuesday, July 13th, 1999**

Draco moved around a few leaves on the ground searching for any sign of the former death eaters they had been looking for for ten days. Nothing. Scanning the forest floor he continued on until something unusual caught his eye.

"Hey! Phil, I think I got something here!"

"What is it?" Phil asked as he hurriedly made his way to Draco.

"It almost looks like, a claw." Draco said curiously as he picked up the object and observed it.

"That it is," Phil said as he took the claw from Draco. "This sort is from a werewolf, no doubt about it. This area isn't known for having a group of werewolves, I checked with the ministry before we left. There's no reason they would be in this area. It could possibly be Greyback's."

"Are you sure?" Draco said nervously.

"Yes. But the question is, how long has it been here? He could've moved on weeks ago or might've left it here hours ago." Phil stated while contemplating the possibilities.

"Either way, now we know they're here."

"Indeed." Phil said looking around for more evidence of their presence.

"How do we find them from here?" Draco asked.

"We start scanning the area for protection shields of any sort. Do you remember the incantation?" Phil asked.

"Yeah, I'll take east and north." Draco said taking charge of the situation. He knew they were close, he could feel it.

"Alright, send your patronus if you find anything." Phil concluded while walking in the opposite direction of Draco.

Walking forward a few steps Draco stated the incantation and waited for a barrier to either appear or for nothing to happen. As he expected, nothing. He knew he wouldn't find anything right away; they were fairly close to their cabin, maybe three miles out.

Draco knew that he needed to cover significant ground that day, at least another five miles. He was actually surprised that Greyback and Dolohov remained elusive. If he didn't find anything he would apparate to where he left off the next day.

The forest they were in wasn't all that dense. It was mostly pines, spruces and the occasional shrub. The visibility was decent but it was easy to get mixed up because of how similar the whole forest looked. The smell of the pine trees reminded him of Christmas at the manor. The manor had always housed a gigantic Christmas tree during the holiday and his mother would throw large parties and banquets. Draco missed those times.

Through the next mile Draco came up with nothing. This whole mission so far they had come up with little to nothing other than the claw. Somehow he had expected there to be much more action involved.

Draco hoped that it didn't last longer than the estimated month, but at this rate he could see no way of it ending that soon. He was already itching to get home.

Testing the space around him for the umpteenth time, finally, the curse sensed the presence of a magical shield about one hundred yards out. Unsure if the people inside the barrier could see him, he cowered behind a large tree. Remembering what to do he cast his patronus with the message to Phil.

Draco's patronus was a phoenix. He learned the patronus charm after the final battle, he really didn't know why his patronus ended up being a phoenix but it didn't really matter to him as long as the charm worked. No one in his family or anyone he knew had the same patronus as him, which made him wonder if his was just random.

After waiting for about fifteen minutes Phil found him.

"It's here?" He asked motioning ahead.

"Yes, about a hundred yards ahead of us. What do we do?" Draco questioned.

"We need to see how large it is. There's a good chance that they cannot see us through the shield so we should be safe." He stated as he looked around the area carefully. Draco stepped out from behind the tree with the reassurance that they wouldn't be seen.

They surveyed the area and began testing the borders of the shield. The protected area wasn't that large, maybe a quarter of an acre. Greyback and Dolohov, if it was them, most likely had just set up a camp or perhaps there was an existing house there.

Noticing the sun dipping down on the horizon Phil sighed, "We'll come back in the morning to see what to do with this. We need to figure a way to approach it or if we need to send in some help."

Draco agreed. "We don't know how many others there could be in there and what kind of dark magic they know, or if it's even them."

"Oh it's them alright. There's no reason for anyone else to be out here. We'll devise a plan in the morning." Phil concluded.

After apparating back to the cabin Draco and Phil went to their separate bedrooms for some well needed sleep.

When Draco entered his little bedroom, he smiled. His owl was back sleeping in her cage and a letter was sitting causally on his pillow. It had become quite routine that whenever he sent Aurora a letter, the next night he would receive one back.

He knew that she had been worried over the week where he didn't respond to her letter and felt rather guilty about it. Knowing that, he decided to make more of an effort to make time to respond to her quicker. To be honest, he would be worried too if she hadn't responded.

His heart couldn't help but race as he picked up the letter with the handwriting in which he had begun to adore.

_Draco,_

_I'm so glad that you're alright. To be honest, I was getting pretty worried. I can't wait to see you again. The next few weeks will take so long I can already tell. Everything here is the same old same old. I'm trying to keep busy to pass the time quicker. Tomorrow night George is having a party which should be a fun time. I miss you so much; I can't wait until we can be together again like we were the night before you left. I'm sorry I didn't want to do anything more, I don't want you to think I'm just a tease. We'll get there eventually, it's not that I don't want to I just didn't think it was time to do anything more. But, anyway I miss you and I hope you stay safe._

_ Aurora_

It was amazing how one paragraph from Aurora could make Draco's day so easily. Of course he wasn't mad at her or thought she was a tease for not wanting to go any further with him. He would wait however long she wanted to do more; it wasn't something he would push for. When it happened, it happened. And when it did, he knew it would be like heaven.

Whenever he received her letters he had such an urge to just leave the mission and go home right in that moment, but he knew he couldn't. He had a job to do. But when that job was done he knew he would be rushing back to her.

Draco took his time writing a reply letter. He wasn't really to the point where he could say how he felt about her easily, he didn't want to reveal too much of how she made him feel. He knew he should let Lucille sleep after the long journey so he set the letter on his bedside table and went to sleep.

. . .

**Wednesday, July 14****th**** 1999**

Aurora knocked on George's office door just after opening up the store. They had a few extra workers in that day so she had a little less work to do. Earlier George had told her to come up to chat about some things.

"Come in!" George called from inside.

"Good morning." Aurora said as she walked in the messy and slightly cluttered office.

"Morning." George said as he put down something he was working on, most likely a new product since he seemed to be covered in some type of green powder.

"Why did you call me up?" Aurora asked, wanting to get to the point.

"I've been sort of concerned about you the past few days, and Ginny told me what you said the other day. Yes, I know she has a big mouth." George said half apologizing for his sister.

"Yes, I was concerned for Draco's safety he hadn't replied to my letter in almost a week. I know he's alright now so it won't be a problem anymore." Aurora explained, not really wanting to discuss it with him.

"Alright I was just curious. Anyway, I wanted to ask you if you would be open to being the manager around here. You do a hell of a lot more work than anyone else that works here. It would of course mean more time here but also a raise." George attempted to persuade her. Being manager was a big responsibility.

"I'd love to." Aurora said immediately as she smiled.

"Great, now remember seven o'clock tonight. Don't be late!" George said reminding her of the party later that day.

In the back of her mind she couldn't help but think of what this whole party was for. George never threw parties just for the fun of it, there was always a reason. Perhaps he was announcing a new product he created or maybe he was finally going to open the store in Hogsmeade. That would make sense for him to make her manager at this location so he could have someone in charge while he was building up the business at Hogsmeade.

"Don't dilly dally get back to work." George said jokingly.

"Yes sir." Aurora said as she saluted him.

"Oh, wait! I forgot, this showed up for you," He said as he tossed her a letter. "I think it's from your brother."

Aurora just barely caught it. Yep, that's Ames's handwriting alright. But why would he send it to her work?

"Thanks."

"No problem." George said as Aurora left the room.

Bounding down the stairs Aurora carefully opened the sealed letter. At the bottom of the stairs she unfolded it, smoothed it out , and held it up to read it.

_Aurora, _

_I'm sending you this message to tell you that my mission will indeed last longer than anyone had anticipated since we have stumbled upon a large group of death eaters and we need to send in more Aurors. Don't be concerned if I do not send to you again until I return. I had to send this to your work so that if it got interjected it would look like a business letter. I will return safe._

_ Ames_

To be honest, Aurora was disappointed that she wouldn't get to see her brother for a while longer than she had expected, she hadn't seen him in what seemed like forever. But it was what it was. She knew Ames could handle himself. She wanted to tell him all the new things in her life. Telling him about Draco wouldn't be easy since Ames seemed to have made friends with him in training.

As the work day ended at six o clock Aurora had an hour to get ready for the party. It was casual wear but she still wanted to look nice. She quickly made her way through Diagon Alley to Ollivander's. The old man was going through the shelves organizing the many wands destined to be owned by the next generation of witches and wizards.

Going into her apartment she was a little disappointed but not surprised to see no owl or letter waiting for her. _Don't be worried, you know he's fine_, she told herself as she went to her bedroom to put on the outfit she had meticulously chosen that morning. It was a simple pair of jeans, a green long-sleeved shirt and a black scarf.

Using a beauty spell, Aurora curled her hair in cute little spirals. She fixed the makeup she had put on in the morning and was ready to go. All of the girly spells she learned in school turned out to be quite helpful.

Realizing she should probably eat before she left, she quickly cooked up some pasta left overs from the night before. While eating her mind went back to the reason for George's party. Wouldn't he have told her? Perhaps it was nothing; George was kind of a party animal from what she'd seen. There were more than a couple times she had seen her boss drunk at a party.

Realizing it was time to go she apparated herself outside of WWW and walked down the cobblestone street toward the side door that lead up to George's apartment.

Ringing the doorbell she looked over to see a young couple maybe in their early twenties holding hands and talking closely while walking down Diagon Alley. Seeing the couple, she desperately pined for Draco. She couldn't wait until she could feel safe in his arms again.

Soon she heard the sound of someone coming down the stairs to let her in. Hermione opened the door all smiley faced and bright. Aurora walked in the narrow stairway.

"Good evening." Hermione said politely.

"Evening." Aurora said back as they went up the narrow stairs together. Aurora was decent friends with Hermione; she was a nice woman but they didn't talk as much as Aurora did with Ginny and Angelina.

Entering the average size apartment she could see some of her friends were already there aside from Harry and Ginny, they seemed to always be running a little late. There were many other people that she didn't know and a significant amount that she recognized from the after party from graduation.

Aurora caught Angelina's eye and Angelina motioned her over to the small group of people she was standing around talking with. Most of them she didn't recognize. George was standing beside Angelina along with Ron.

"Hey, glad you could make it." Angelina said with a beaming smile.

"Yeah, no problem." Aurora said joining the group, standing on the other side of Angelina.

Aurora listened in not adding anything for a while. They seemed to be discussing Ron and Harry's Auror training, Aurors had seemed to become a hot topic with their whole group. Draco had never really told her what training had really involved, neither had Ames. She had never really asked, but she was interested.

"Well everyday was different, but mostly we practiced dueling, spells, the history of Aurors," Ron told them. "I'm glad it's over."

"Well now the real work begins." A man Aurora did not know replied, he most likely was another new Auror.

"Yes, I'm actually leaving next week." Ron announced proudly as Hermione fidgeted nervously.

"Are you nervous?" Angelina asked passively while taking a sip of her wine.

"Not really, I mean after everything I've already been through in my school years I think I know what to expect." He explained.

"That doesn't mean you know what's going to happen." Hermione stated, obviously uncomfortable with the conversation.

"I know, but I feel more prepared then if we hadn't gone through all that." Ron carefully explained to her.

Sensing the tenseness growing in the conversation between the two, Aurora decided to step away. "I'll be back; I have to use the restroom." She said quietly to Angelina.

Angelina nodded, acknowledging her departure.

Relieved that she got out of the uncomfortable situation, she walked down the hallway to the bathroom. Seeing that it was unoccupied so she went in. She didn't really have to use the restroom, so she took a minute to fix up her makeup and straighten out the curls in her hair.

While turning the sharp corner after exiting the bathroom, Aurora accidentally bumped into one of the other party guests.

"Oh! I'm sorry." She apologized, startled by the sudden jolt.

The man she bumped turned around to look at her, "That's alright," he said smiling.

Something about him looked familiar, like she had seen him before recently. After a moment she remembered who he was. It was Michael, they had met two weeks earlier at the after graduation party for Harry and Ron.

"Wait, I remember you," Michael said while smiling, "you're Aurora right?"

"Yeah, I remember you too, from the party two weeks ago." She said as they stood in the small hallway.

"So how have you been?" He asked making simple conversation.

"Pretty good, how about you?" Aurora asked going along with it.

"Great, I'm actually getting ready to leave for my first mission." He mentioned. For some reason everyone just loved talking about Aurors and missions.

"Will you be going alone?" Aurora asked knowing that they usually were given partners from what Ames had previously told her.

"No, I got paired up with a more experienced Auror. I'm quite glad of it too, since it's my first one I'll need some help." Michael explained.

"Do most new Aurors get paired up with a more experienced Auror?" She asked wondering whether Draco was paired with someone, he had never told her. Then again they didn't really talk about his mission altogether.

"Yes, Aurors are always assigned one right away. Later on we are assigned a more permanent partner who is as equally experienced or close to it. But, you must be sick of hearing about Aurors." Michael said as if reading her mind.

"A little bit," Aurora laughed, "it's the topic of choice among my friends."

"I know. I believe they're still talking about it now." He said motioning to the group including Angelina and George.

"Which is exactly why I decided to take a little break." Aurora said. Michael seemed like a really nice guy, she hoped he knew that she wasn't single considering what Angelina may have told him two weeks before.

"So you work at Weasley's Wizarding Wheezes right?" He asked curiously.

"Yes, I do. It's quite an interesting job, never boring that's for sure." She said while smiling thinking of all of the hijinks George had pulled over the time she worked there. There must've been at least twenty times where she went home with magical powders and liquids stuck in her hair.

"I can imagine. How long have you worked there?" Michael asked folding his arms.

"Since the end of last summer, when it reopened." She said remembering those first few days getting to know George and Angelina. They had become friends pretty quickly with all the work they put in every day to get the business started up again.

"So you know George well?"

"Yes, we've become quite good friends after seeing each other almost every day for a year."

As if on que, the ginger haired man they were talking about cleared his throat loudly calling attention to himself. Aurora and Michael turned toward him, interested in what he was preparing to say. He stood separated from his friends.

"First of all I'd like to thank you all for coming tonight," George said above the now silent room. Angelina was standing beside him.

"I've invited you all tonight because I have an announcement, actually we have an announcement." George continued including Angelina in the statement.

"Last week, I asked Angelina if she would be my wife." George said proudly and excitedly.

"And, I of course said yes." She said with a beaming smile on her face as she held up her hand, stated a hiding spell and in a moment a beautiful diamond ring was revealed on her finger.

The room erupted with hoots, hollers, and clapping. Aurora clapped loudly and whistled. She couldn't be happier for her friends. There was no way that this is what she expected to happen tonight but she was pleasantly surprised.

George kissed Angelina in front of their closest friends. They looked extremely happy together.

Aurora was smiling ear to ear. "Well I definitely wasn't expecting that," She said to Michael.

"No, I didn't either." He said.

"Angelina is glowing," Aurora said still ecstatic.

"Yeah, you're not married are you?" He asked jokingly.

"No, I'm not." She replied and snickered, seeing this as a good time to state her relationship she added, "I have a boyfriend but we're certainly not getting engaged any time soon."

"Why not?" He curiously questioned.

"We've only been dating for about a month." She explained to him.

"Oh I see, why isn't he here with you?" He asked inquisitively looking about the room.

"He's an Auror and he's actually on a mission right now. He's been gone for almost two weeks now. He was in your class for Auror training I believe, he graduated with all of you." Aurora said.

"Really? What's his name?" Michael asked with a grin of interest.

"Draco Malfoy." She said succinctly.

"Ah, yes he was in my class. Our teacher thought very highly of him, must be why he was the first sent out. Actually I think our teacher is the one that is his partner considering he also is on a mission." Michael recalled.

"Phil, right? The man that lead the graduation?" Aurora asked.

"Yep, that's him. Draco's in good hands I can assure you. Phil knows what he's doing, he's been an Auror for over twenty years." He said trying to assure her of Draco's safety.

"Well that's good to hear, but it's hard not to worry." Aurora said while smiling knowing that Draco would be shielded from harm's way. "Anyway, I think I need to go congratulate my friends on their engagement, do you mind?"

"No, of course not. I have catching up to do with some other Aurors that I had training with." He said passively.

"Alright, I'll see you around." She said as they parted ways.

Angelina was in the kitchen pouring glasses of wine for her guests with her wand effortlessly when Aurora walked in.

"Hey, Angelina congratulations!" Aurora said as she walked up to her.

Angelina turned around and smiled hugely. "Thanks, I was so nervous about telling everyone."

"Why? Everyone assumed this would happen soon." Aurora said.

"Because marriage is a big deal and I feel like we're ready, but I was just worried about how our friends would react. But, everything turned out perfect." Angelina said finishing up the group of wine glasses.

"Well of course it did, can I see the ring?" Aurora asked, sharing her excitement.

"Of course, isn't it beautiful?" Angelina asked as she held up the ring. The diamond was princess cut and was on what seemed to be a white gold setting with two small gems on either side of the diamond. It looked perfect on Angelina's dainty finger.

"It's so pretty. Did George really pick this out for you?" Aurora said, surprised at the man's good taste in rings.

"Apparently, it is shocking isn't it?" She said while laughing to herself admiring the ring.

"Yes, so how did he propose to you?" Aurora asked looking back up to her.

"Well we were in his office and he was supposedly showing me a new product that he was thinking working on. He brought out this maroon colored box and waved his wand over it. Then the box burst open and there were little fireworks of a bunch of different colors and the last one spelled out 'Will you marry me?' and I looked over to him and he was on one knee holding up the ring. I said yes immediately." Angelina told her with a grin from ear to ear.

"That's so cute, I'm so happy for you guys." Aurora said honestly.

Throughout the rest of the night Aurora chatted with her friends and even had a glass of wine, which George had insisted upon for the occasion. At around ten o'clock Aurora decided to go home, seeing that she did have work the next day.

After saying goodnight to everyone she went back down the narrow staircase and onto Diagon Alley. From there she made the short walk from WWW to her little apartment. There were a few stragglers left on the street finishing up their shopping and making their way home.

Upon arrival, Aurora tried to get in quietly so she didn't wake . The old man went to bed rather early and woke up at the crack of dawn. She tip-toed up the stairs and went into her homey apartment.

Aurora quickly got into her pajamas and into her bed. Letting her mind drift off she began to think about Angelina and George's engagement, to tell the truth she didn't exactly see it coming, they hadn't acted any different since they had gotten engaged. Maybe they were really trying to hide it.

Quickly Aurora fell into a deep sleep.

When her alarm went off dutifully she groaned and got up from her bed. As usual it was still dark outside with the sun just barely peeking up from the east.

While getting ready for work, Aurora heard a slight noise from the other room. She put down her hair brush carefully by the sink and wandered out of the bathroom. Apparently the noise had not come from the bedroom since nothing had been disturbed.

A little nervous, Aurora quietly opened the door to the rest of her apartment. Before she turned the corner she made sure nothing had been moved or touched in the kitchen. After turning the corner she realized her nervousness to a little noise was pointless. All the noise was, was Lucille trying to get in the closed window.

She sighed in relief and went to the window and shoved it open. The little owl flew in and promptly landed on the arm of her couch. Aurora took the letter from the bird and sat down on the couch to read it.

_Aurora, _

_Please don't be worried about me, I'll be alright. I do not think you're a tease at all. We can go at whatever pace you want to. I have been anxious to get home but we haven't made all that much progress. Hopefully it will pick up very soon. I hope you had fun at the party. Going to a party sounds like a fun time right now. I hope you're doing alright and I'll be back before you know it._

_ Draco_

Aurora was relieved to know that Draco didn't think that she had been a tease. At that time she wasn't ready for anything more, but she knew that she soon would be.


	13. Curse

_**Hello! I know the past few chapters have been a bit boring but I promise it will be better very soon. This is a big chapter you guys. Anyway thank you to chocolateKATE, Beauty422, and Eruthiawen Vanyalanthiriel for reviewing! P.S. I'm trying to go for longer chapters.**_

**Thursday, July 15****th****, 1999**

Walking back from assessing the barrier, yetagain, Draco began to feel anxiousness rising in his stomach. How on earth would they be able to get through and defeat all of the possible death eaters inside it alone? There just was no way. They didn't even have a way to know how many of them there would be in there.

"Phil, how do you assume we get through that thing?" Draco asked referring to the barrier as he pushed aside a rouge branch from a pine tree.

"Well it's no question that we will need more help, perhaps another ten to fifteen Aurors, if we can get that many. I can only expect that it's not just them in there, in order for them to get power it they couldn't be alone. They will have followers. When we get back to the cabin I'll send an owl over to the Ministry request assistance." Phil explained thoughtfully.

"How long do you think it will take for the Ministry to get them here?" Draco asked.

"It might take a day or so to get the letter back into the ministry and another few days to round up some off duty Aurors. So five days, maybe more, it's hard to tell. It really depends on how high of a priority it is to the Ministry. Death Eaters are their main target now." Phil responded while doing the math in his head.

"What do we do until then?" Draco asked trying to see what they would possibly do for up to five days.

"I think we're going to need to brush up on our dueling skills, we don't know what kind of dark magic they and their followers know. This isn't going to be a clean match. Some of their followers may flee immediately but Greyback and Dolohov will not go down without a fight." Phil said assuredly.

"So when we do get in are we going in to capture or… kill?" Draco asked apprehensively. In all his life, he had never killed a human soul.

"Preferably capture, we can't get much information out of them if they're dead. But, if a situation arises where we have no other choice, then we would have to kill." He said, "It's rare that we kill a death eater on site, they're much more useful in questioning if they're alive."

Approaching the desolate cabin Draco tried to take in the information Phil had just stated. Even though they were death eaters, since he hadn't killed anyone before he didn't know if he could. He had never practiced the killing curse either.

He knew exactly why he couldn't kill Dumbledore, it wasn't because he had never used the killing curse before or even that he felt like he had to, he didn't want to. Draco didn't want to kill one of the only people who could defeat Voldemort.

But death eaters were a completely different breed of human. Greyback wasn't even that. Nervous as he was, he knew he would do whatever it took to eliminate the rise of death eaters.

Entering the small cabin, Draco waited as Phil scribbled down a letter on a spare piece of stationery to the Ministry calling for more Aurors to help in their mission. He hoped that they would heed their letter seriously enough to send help out quickly.

"Hopefully they will see this as a high priority, I don't really doubt that they won't. The Auror department has had it out for Greyback for years now, even before the war. I'm sure they will jump at the chance to get him into Azkaban." Phil said assuredly.

"Yes, he's killed many innocent people, including tens of muggles. He's turned many people into the awful life of being a werewolf. Do you think some of their followers will be werewolves?" Draco asked as the though dawned on him.

"Most definitely, probably the majority of them will be, which is why we need to practice dueling specifically for werewolves. They have more physical power than we do; they're stronger and much faster. It's starting to get dark now; we'll begin in the morning."

"Alright, goodnight." Draco succinctly said.

"Night." Phil said as he went into the bedroom next to Draco's.

Draco ran his fingers through his light blonde hair as he walked into his bedroom. In the dark room he could see the full moon outside his window and he smirked at the irony. But werewolves were no joke, they were one of the most dangerous magical creatures. He had never been up against one before, so he was glad he would soon learn how to defend himself against them.

After fumbling around for his pajamas he put them on and lay down on the small bed the cabin provided. There was a soft crinkling sound as he lay down, in a moment he realized that he had not even looked to see if his owl had returned.

"Lumos," he said as he pulled his wand out to look for the letter beneath him.

He finally located the thin letter on the bed and held up the light pink envelope. He noticed that Aurora had gotten new stationery since the old letters were always white. He opened the letter and held his wand close to it so he could read it.

_Draco,_

_I have very exciting news, at George's party this evening George and Angelina announced their engagement! I don't think anyone there was expecting it, I sure wasn't. I truly do hope that your mission is nearing an end. It seems like forever since I've seen you. I miss you. Stay safe._

_ Aurora_

Draco smiled at how obviously excited she was about the engagement between George and Angelina. He hardly knew the couple but he was happy for them. He was glad to see there was some normalcy going on elsewhere.

Clearly, he wanted the mission to be over soon also so he could return home and see Aurora again, but he knew that in order for it to be over they would have to face serious danger and he'd be lucky to scrape by unscathed. He was nervous that they would fail, that they wouldn't catch either Greyback or Dolohov.

Draco knew that the minute they attack the group of death eaters, his life would be in jeopardy. He also knew that once they left the cabin to go after the death eaters they wouldn't come back to it. For safety measures, different Aurors would retrieve their things after the mission.

They had no way of knowing when the other Aurors would be arriving so Draco recognized that it was safer to not send back to Aurora in case by the time it got back they wouldn't be there. Reminding himself of this fact he looked over to the drawer at his bedside table where he kept all of the letters from Aurora, he knew that if they fell into the wrong hands Aurora could be in serious danger.

Draco opened the little drawer and gently took out the letters. Looking at them longingly for the last time he hesitantly set them on the tabletop.

"Incendio," he whispered. Immediately, the letters went up in flames and in moments they were just ashes.

"Evanesco," he whispered again. With the second spell the ashes disappeared. He felt dreadful that he had to dispose of something he had held dear the past few weeks. But he knew it had to be done to ensure Aurora's safety.

. . .

_Click clack, click clack._ The sound of the old fashioned cash register reverberated over and over in Aurora's mind as she rung up yet another customers purchase. The past couple days she had been on the dreadful task of register duty. It was boring and monotonous, but she was glad that on this day she switched to stock room duty after lunch.

After her lunch break Aurora headed to the stock room in the back to clean up and take account of all of the products. The stockroom itself was decently sized, with the recent growth of the business it had become stuffed with products. Aurora knew that George was thinking of expanding the business to Hogsmeade. There was no doubt that it would get many customers there.

A while later Aurora heard the sound of the stock room door open and close. She looked over to see Angelina walking towards her with the other stock room clipboard.

"Good afternoon." Aurora greeted her.

"Hey," Angelina replied while smiling as she looked down the list on her clipboard.

"How are you today?" Aurora asked, making small talk.

"I'm great, how are you?" She responded. Angelina looked to have a happy glow around her all that day, Aurora could tell that her friend was brimming with cheerfulness.

"Pretty good. Thanks for inviting me last night, it was really a fun time." Aurora said while organizing the newest product, Chameleon Concoctions, at WWW.

"No problem, I'm glad you had fun." Angelina said.

"Have you told your parents yet about the engagement?" Aurora asked, moving on to the next item on the list.

"Yeah, we wanted to tell them before we told our friends, just in case. George's mum was very excited to say the least, she's already started planning." Angelina said, not seeming to mind.

"You've already set a date?" Aurora questioned, surprised.

"Well we haven't officially set it, but we're thinking about New Year's Eve." Angelina said and smiled.

"That would be fun, a new year's wedding. Is thinking it will be at the Burrow?" Aurora asked referring to Angelina's future mother in law, "Like George's brother Bill's wedding?"

"Yes, but I actually like the idea and so does George, neither of us care too much about the location. That's really all the planning we've done so far, but I know I'll have to start soon. Weddings are a big thing to plan." Angelina said excitedly.

"Yes, they are. Well at least you have the location down; I'm assuming that's one of the most challenging things to lock down."

"That is a huge relief too. But, I'm excited to pick out flowers, get a dress, bridesmaids dresses, the bachelorette party." Angelina said as she daydreamed.

"It'll all be a lot of fun." Aurora said imagining all of the antics that would no doubt ensue at the bachelorette party.

"Yeah, I honestly can't wait to start planning. The absolute first thing that I want to do is find a dress." Angelina confessed getting even more enthused over the details.

"Who will you take with when you go to buy a dress?" Aurora inquired.

"Well probably my mum, , and my bridesmaids." Angelina said thoughtfully.

"I'm sure would be thrilled to go, since she still has quite a time to wait until Hermione and Ron actually get married." Aurora said referring to how Ron and Hermione had decided to wait in their engagement.

"That's what I thought too. I don't really know why they're engaged already even though they don't plan to get married until a couple years." Angelina confessed, "But I guess it really doesn't matter."

"Who knows? Well I'm all done; I'll talk to you later." Aurora said as she checked off the last item on her list.

"Alright, see ya." Angelina said.

As Aurora left the stock room to stock the shelves of the items she just checked, she thought of her own future wedding. It was something she had thought about since she was a little girl. Like any normal girl, she had imagined herself walking down the aisle in a beautiful gown beside her father. But, she knew that one aspect of her perfect fantasy could never happen, her father was gone. She would walk alone.

As a child, she had always envisioned the man at the end of the aisle to be some sort of a prince charming. She never anticipated what he may have looked like, just what he would be like. Obviously he wouldn't be perfect but if she was willing to marry him, she would think him to be close to it.

. . .

**Tuesday, July 20****th**** 1999**

"Ron, stop being so bitter, you're bringing us all down." Ginny scolded her brother as the three of them sat eating lunch in the break room.

"I'm not being bitter!" Ron argued as he took another large bite of his sandwich.

"Oh come on, you had to know George wouldn't pick you. Lee's been his best friend since his first year. You two hardly spend any time with each other anyway." Ginny tried to explain to him.

"Yes, but I'm his brother!" Ron debated back.

"What does that have anything to do with it? I don't know why you care so much; you know you'll be Harry's best man." Ginny tried to reason with him.

"Harry? Harry isn't getting married." Ron rebutted.

Ginny rolled her eyes, "Well when we do you know he'll pick you."

"How do you know you two will get married then?" Ron questioned.

"Oh come on Ron, don't be ridiculous. When are you just going to accept that me and Harry are together, for good." Ginny stated.

"I know you are, but you're not engaged, that's all." Ron said admitting defeat.

Aurora laughed quietly to herself as the two siblings bickered. They were of course conversing George's decision to make Lee Jordan his best man over the weekend. She wasn't really surprised; she had already assumed that was who he was going to choose considering how good of friends they were. She honestly didn't know why Ron was so offended. She honestly didn't think that it was that big of a deal. It wasn't like he was left out of being in the wedding entirely. He was still a groomsman.

"It's not that big of a deal anyway, you would actually have to help plan stuff if you were the best man." Ginny added.

"That's true, I suppose. It's no doubt that Lee will throw one hell of a bachelor party, probably a better one then I could set up." Ron chuckled to himself.

"Has Angelina said anything about her maid of honor?" Ginny asked Aurora, curious of the decision.

"No, not really. I don't think she has decided yet, either that or she hasn't told anyone who it is yet." Aurora said.

"Oh ok. Well she'll probably say something about it soon considering they've decided to have the wedding in five months." Ginny concluded.

"It is an awful short engagement isn't it?" Ron enquired passively.

"Maybe not, if they're ready to get married and are willing to do the planning in a short amount of time, then why not?" Ginny asked.

"That's what I thought too, I'm not really one to judge. They seem ready, they already live together." Aurora added.

"That's true; it definitely takes patience when living together." Ginny said, speaking from experience since her and Harry had been living together for months.

"That's for sure." Ron agreed, then a few seconds later added, "Don't tell Hermione I said that."

"I won't." Ginny replied succinctly. "Anyway, are you all ready to leave for your first mission on Thursday?"

"As ready as I'll ever be. I'm not really nervous or anything. Aurora, do you know anything about what's going on with Malfoy's mission?" Ron asked, obviously not comfortable with calling him his first name because of previous grudges.

"Unfortunately no, he's not exactly allowed to say anything in case the letters get interjected and gets into the wrong hands. I just know that he said it's nearing its end." Aurora said.

"That's what I thought you would say, but what I was getting at is that the Ministry was actually sending out backup Aurors to Phil Montgomery's mission. That's his partner right?"

"From what I've gathered, yes. What does it mean when they send in backup?"

"It means that they've most likely found who or what they've been looking for." Ron explained.

"So it does mean it'll be over soon?" Aurora asked hopefully.

"If everything goes as planned, yes." Ron said.

. . .

"The magical obstruction is about two miles northeast. It seems pretty solid from my observations. They will know the second it is broken. We'll have the element of surprise on our side but only for a moment, we'll have to act fast." Phil said explaining the situation to another Auror.

The Aurors Phil had sent for days before had finally arrived. There were twelve of them; they were all obviously quite a bit older and more experienced than Draco. Draco didn't recognize or know any of them except for Peter Jefferson, the man Draco had dueled against in his Auror training exams. The fact that they sent out one of the most skilled Aurors said a lot about the dangers and the priority of the impending battle.

"Any idea how many of them are in there?" Peter asked referring to the death eaters.

"No, we could never be sure." Phil said sighing as he rested his hands on the table.

"Well either way we need to focus on getting Greyback, Dolohov is of big importance too but we've had too many innocent and muggle deaths at the hands of Greyback to let him slip away again. He most likely will not run from us, he put up one hell of a fight." Peter told the group.

"The majority of his followers might flee. We won't worry about them too much, but if we already have Dolohov and Greyback we might as well catch them too." Phil mentioned. "Be aware that some of them could be werewolves, don't let them get close enough to you to figure it out."

"Are we all ready to head out?" Peter asked looking for approval in the men's faces.

Draco's heart beat fast in his chest, this would be the first time that he was in any real danger while dueling someone. He could get seriously injured, or even killed. But, he knew that he had to prove himself. This was his chance to be redeemed.

"We've already set up a portkey to get there so we don't waste any time walking or making separate apparating trips." Phil said pointing to an old ratty wizarding robe as they all exited the small and cramped cabin.

Phil had found the old robes in his room at the cabin and figured it would be suitable. They had tested it out a couple times to make sure it would do the job. Hesitantly, Draco walked over to the portkey with the rest of the Aurors.

"Brace yourselves." One of the Aurors warned.

All at once they grabbed the robes and suddenly Draco felt himself quickly rising from the ground and a rough pull in his stomach. Moments later, he hit the ground with a loud thump, he still hadn't mastered the landing quite yet.

Getting up, he looked around to see the rest of the Aurors landing back on the ground, some brushing themselves off, and waiting for orders. They were about twenty yards away from the edge of the imperceptible barrier.

Peter, who had already arrived, calmly spoke to the Aurors, "In a moment, I will open this wall and when I do, do not hesitate. Find Greyback and Dolohov, do not go after their minor followers unless they pose a threat to you."

As he walked up to the barrier, the other Aurors followed, wands drawn. Peter raised his wand and muttered a spell of immense power, as the ground shook and he spoke it. Instantly, there was a pop noise and the barrier disappeared.

In that split second the Aurors around Draco sprang into action, he quickly caught on and followed them. As they sprinted into the barrier, Draco observed the area around him; there were several tents set up and little fires lit outside of them. All around there were death eaters awaking and without hesitation, shouting spells and curses at the Aurors.

The Aurors split off in different directions looking for Greyback and Dolohov. Some blew the tents from the ground to reveal whoever was inside it. Draco opted to keep going forward. Left and right there were Aurors dueling with the followers, there were so many of them they seemed to be coming out of the forest floor.

Drawing his wand, Draco stupefied one of the death eaters quickly approaching from his left. Suddenly a spell hit him from the right and he flew backward hitting the side of one of the many empty tents lining the camp. Draco hastily gathered his bearings and got back up to see the death eater who had jinxed him.

"Expelliarmus!" Draco said pointing his wand at the approaching wizard. The wand flew out of its owners hand into Draco's. He snapped the wand in two and threw it to the ground, rendering the death eater helpless and defenseless.

"Petrificus Totalus!" Draco cursed. The death eater's body froze on the spot and fell over with a thump.

Moving on, Draco could see the various Aurors fighting off the remaining followers of Greyback and Dolohov. Hearing a deep guttural growl Draco swung around to see Peter and a few other Aurors fighting the notorious Fenrir Greyback. There were curses flying at the creature and they seemed to have almost overpowered him when Draco saw in the distance a figure in his peripheral vision rapidly disappearing from the scene.

Upon fixing his eyes on the figure he noticed that it was a man and he had dark hair and a burly figure. Draco recognized him as none other than Antonin Dolohov. Immediately after identifying the man, Draco took off as fast as he could after him.

"Stupify!" Draco shouted pointing his wand at the quickly disappearing Dolohov. The spell hit him and he coasted in the air and hit the ground with a hard smack. This gave Draco a minimal amount of time to catch up with him as Dolohov got the wind back into him.

Now ten yards or so away from the Death Eater, Draco stopped and raised his wand. Dolohov had gotten up and was also staring him down.

"Ah, what a surprise, Lucius's boy. Draco is it?" Dolohov taunted as he walked closer to Draco, whose wand was still raised.

Draco thought it best not to reply to the man.

"Traitor, your father was, if you ask me. He told the ministry anything they asked, I heard. But still he ended up in Azkaban? Pity. But you, mommy's little angel, escaped scot free." Dolohov teased at him. The man had stayed at their manor which had been converted into a sort of headquarters for them during the final months of the war and soon caught on to the doting nature of Draco's relationship with his mother.

"And even now you don't have the guts to curse me, do you?" He continued.

Not wanting to hear any more of his pathetic taunting, Draco took action and cursed the death eater, "Expelliarmus!"

Dolohov's wand flew out of his hand into the depths of the forest. Shocked at the sudden spell, a dumb look spread across his face.

"Not so easy to taunt when you don't have any way to defeat me, Antonin." Draco said.

And yet again, Dolohov ran, as if it would help him escape his fate. Draco ran after him shouting curses, only for Dolohov to dodge the most of them.

"Incarcerous!" Draco shouted, out of breath. To his surprise, the curse hit Dolohov and immediately coiled him up in ropes. Exhausted from the chase, Draco walked over to the fallen Death Eater. Dolohov was struggling in the ropes to no avail.

"Immobulus." Draco said pointing his wand at the man. Immediately, his struggles stopped as he was rendered paralyzed in the ropes.

Suddenly, Draco became aware of the faint sound of footsteps on the dead pine needles creeping up behind him. Just as he turned around to see who was there he heard a familiar voice and word before he saw a bright light and then, nothing.

. . .

**Wednesday, July 21****st****, 1999**

Near the end of the work day Angelina and Ron were chatting near the back of the store while fixing up the shelves and demonstrating toys to the young customers when Angelina noticed an older man she vaguely recognized enter the store with a grave look on his face.

"Ron, who's that?" Angelina asked, poking him in the shoulder.

"Huh, odd, that's Phil Montgomery. The head of Auror training, wonder why he's here." Ron pondered.

Momentarily, Phil spotted them and made his way over to them.

"Phil, what's going on?" Ron asked him, knowing that he wasn't the kind of man to show up in a joke shop.

"I'm uh, looking for Ms. Aurora Adams, is she here?" Phil asked awkwardly, he always hated to be the one that had to bring bad news.

Catching on to what was happening, Angelina gasped, "Oh my god, is he… dead?" She asked trying to keep her voice down while referring to Draco.

Phil looked down and sighed, "Not quite."

"I think it'd be best if you get her," Ron said, "I think she's in the back room."

A moment later, Angelina hesitantly left to retrieve Aurora.

"What happened?" Ron asked.

"We don't really know, he was alone. Managed to take down Dolohov on his own so that we have him in custody, but someone else cursed him and Dolohov won't tell us a thing." Phil explained.

"How do you know it wasn't Dolohov?" Ron questioned.

"Because Dolohov was bound and unconscious." Phil told him as they saw Angelina returning with a confused and worried Aurora.

"I better go." Ron said and went away.

"Aurora Adams?" Phil asked her identity.

"Yes, that's me." Aurora said nervously wringing her hands.

"I'm sorry I have some unfortunate news, Mr. Malfoy was severely injured in combat, he is currently being treated at St. Mungo's on the fourth floor if you would like to see him. The healers are already informed of who you are so there will be no trouble getting in to see him." Phil explained carefully.

Shocked and scared for Draco's condition she knew there was no way she would not go to St. Mungo's. "How did you know to contact me?" She asked quietly.

"You were the first on his list of emergency contacts if something were to ever happen to him. I could take you to St. Mungo's now if you'd like." Phil offered.

"Yes, that would be nice." Aurora said, as she had never been to St. Mungo's before.

After saying a quick goodbye to Angelina, Phil took Aurora's arm and apparated her to the lobby of the fourth floor of St. Mungo's.

The hospital was mostly white and in the lobby there was a large desk and a friendly looking woman standing behind it writing with a fancy peacock feathered quill. Aurora could see numerous rooms down a hall that curved around a corner.

"He's in room 412, it's just around the corner there. He wasn't awake a little while ago, but I don't know if he is now." Phil told her.

"Thank you." She said shyly as the man disappeared before her eyes.

Nervously, Aurora walked down the quiet hallways looking at the room numbers as she went along. After turning the bend her heart raced as she counted up the room numbers, _408, 409, 410, 411, _and finally, _412._

Before opening the door, Aurora took a deep breath. When she did open the door she saw a healer replacing a bloody bandage on Draco's shoulder and whispering a spell.

"Oh, Hello. You must be Ms. Adams." The young woman said.

"Yes, I am." She said quietly. "Could you tell me what's going on?"

"Well, sort of. We don't know what curse he was hit with, so we're not sure how to treat him. There isn't a known curse that does this sort of damage. We're not quite sure when he will wake up, could be today, could be next week."

"Oh, ok." Aurora said, not sure of how to take in the information.

"I'll just leave you two alone now." The healer said noticing Aurora's anxiousness.

After the woman left, Aurora took a good look at Draco for the first time since she had arrived. He had bandages all over his body. Since they didn't know the curse, they must not have known how to heal it properly. His face had a slight cut on his cheek, but other than that it was the same as always.

Aurora sat down on the strategically placed chair next to the bed he was on and sighed. She had no idea what to do, how to feel, or what to say to him, if anything.

From the looks of him, Draco seemed to have been hurt very badly. Almost his entire torso was covered with gauze and bandages. He would most likely be in a lot of pain when he awoke.

For a long while Aurora sat and watched his chest go up and down as he breathed. What if he didn't make it? What if the spell had done something inside of him that they were unaware of?

Carefully, Aurora placed her small hand on his. Before she even knew it, the touch had brought a tear in her eye. This was really happening; Draco could possibly die if they didn't figure out what happened to him.

Throughout the night, Aurora watched and waited for any response from Draco. She had even tried talking to him at certain points, but to no avail.


	14. I Missed You

**Early hours of the morning, Thursday, July 22nd, 1999**

Draco slowly awoke to the sound of faint breathing next to him and indescribable pain coming from every part of his body. He opened his eyes, confused as to where he was, and looked down at his aching body to see tens of bandages and bruises scattered everywhere on him. He knew by the looks of the room that he must be in St. Mungo's. He remembered bits and pieces of why he would be in the hospital, he knew he had been cursed, but that was it.

Hearing the quiet and slow breathing coming from his left again, he looked over to see Aurora peacefully sleeping on a chair beside his bed. He had never been so happy to see anyone, and for a moment he forgot about the immense pain pulsing through his body. She looked so sweet and calm but he knew the worry that he must have put her through over the past few weeks. Draco tried to envision what must have ran through her mind when she was informed of him being injured. Especially because he didn't even know exactly what happened to him.

All he remembered was that very familiar male voice and the spell that he knew but he couldn't put his finger on what it was. Hoping he would remember with time, Draco laid his head back on the pillow and closed his eyes not wanting to awake the lovely woman who sat beside him.

As if somehow sensing the slight movement around her, Aurora woke up after a very uncomfortable nap in the plastic chair next to Draco's bed. Opening her eyes, Aurora noticed her hand still entwined with Draco's pale hand and she lightly squeezed it. To her surprise, she felt a light squeeze back. She smiled and looked up to Draco's tired face. He was awake now and smiling back at her.

"I missed you," Draco said quietly and earnestly.

"I missed you too, how are you feeling?" Aurora asked caringly, knowing that with the amount of injuries inflicted on him that he must be hurting very badly.

"Awful, I don't know what that curse did to me." Draco said, wincing from remembering how much pain he was feeling in every inch of his body.

Aurora reached to the table next to her and grabbed a little bottle filled with a light purple liquid inside it, "The healer came back while you were still asleep and told me to give you this when you woke up for the pain. She told me that they don't know what else to do for you right now because of your injuries, she said that they were unlike any she had seen before. The healers were all quite confused."

"Thank you. I don't remember what curse I was hit with, I know I heard it, but I can't remember it." Draco took the bottle from Aurora's outstretched hand, for a quick moment their hands touched and he was reminded of how much he missed her and how much he wanted to be close to her. He quickly drank the potion, it tasted horrible, but within seconds he started to feel the pain lessen. He was thankful for Aurora's presence, because even her just being there was helping him feel better.

"The healer also said that you should rest some more after taking the potion since it is very strong," Aurora mentioned quietly.

"Alright," Draco said, he did not really want to sleep because he was finally back with the girl he had been so anxious and impatient to see for weeks.

"Do you still want me to stay with you?" Aurora asked, hoping he would say yes because she did not want to leave his side.

"Yes, of course I do." Draco said, taken aback that she would even think that he would want her to leave. He recalled how he never wanted to leave her to go on the mission, all he wanted to do that morning he left was to stay with her. That night they had slept next to each other was the best night of his life, so far. He hoped that there would be many more nights and moments like that with Aurora.

Taking a chance, Draco held out his hand, inviting Aurora to lay on the small hospital bed with him. Aurora took his hand gently and somehow knew what he meant. She carefully climbed up on the bed next to him and laid close to him. She tried not to hurt him as she laid against him and rested her head on the soft pillow next to his.

Draco thought to himself about how even though Aurora looked exhausted from waiting for him to wake up and being so worried, she still looked beautiful. He still thought that she was the most beautiful woman he had ever set eyes on. It was amazing to him that someone as stunning and as sweet as her would ever have feelings for someone like him. He knew he wasn't nearly what she deserved, but he knew that she was the one he wanted and he would do his best to be what she deserved. Draco knew that he felt something for her that he had never felt for anyone before, love.

Aurora looked into Draco's gray eyes and thought about how much she had missed seeing him. She never knew she could begin to care about someone as quickly as she did for Draco. She was worried sick for him the whole time he was away. There was something special about him, she thought, he was unlike any man she had ever met before. He was so handsome yet he was kind and shy.

For the first time in weeks, Draco leaned in close to Aurora and kissed her lightly. Her lips felt like silk on his. Sensing her kiss him back, Draco deepened the kiss and he felt her tongue timidly touch his. Aurora's heart beat faster as Draco kissed her, she had so longed to kiss him for so long.

The kiss lasted for what only seemed like seconds, when Aurora slowly pulled away and smiled at Draco. She didn't want to stop kissing him but she knew that he needed to rest and she didn't want to be the one to slow his recovery. Aurora lovingly laid her head on his shoulder and waited for sleep to come.

**. . .**

That voice, it was so familiar, but whose was it? And that curse, the wounds felt almost identical to another Draco had experienced before.

Draco heard it over and over in his mind, he tried focusing in on the tone and the sound of the word but he couldn't. The memory wouldn't come. As he dreamt, he relived the moment again and again but the memory was blurred and contorted.

Draco was awoken by the sound of the hospital room door gently shutting and clicking into place and two pairs of light footsteps in the room. He opened his eyes to see a young woman he assumed to be the healer looking after him and his partner, Phil. Also, he noticed that Aurora was no longer in the little bed with him. He knew they must have asked her to leave, but he missed her presence and wished that they had let her stay.

"Good morning, Mr. Malfoy, how are you feeling?" The healer asked sweetly.

"I'm alright, the potion helped quite a bit." Draco explained.

"Draco, do you know who cursed you?" Phil asked, butting in, obviously wanting to get to the bottom of the whole situation.

Draco looked to him and shook his head, "No, but i recognized his voice. I'm hoping it will come back to me in time."

"We captured many of Dolohov's and Greyback's followers but they all claim that they didn't curse you, not that we can believe them anyway. Dolohov is still in questioning." Phil explained to him.

"And Greyback?" Draco asked curiously. He hoped that they had at least captured him, he did not want his first mission to be meaningless.

"He is dead." Phil informed him succinctly.

"Good." Draco replied, relieved at the news.

"Mr. Malfoy," the healer interjected, "upon further inspection, we can cure your wounds without knowing what curse caused them. But, I am sure the Ministry would be interested to know what curse has stumped us."

"Yes, if you do remember, be sure to inform us of what it was, and who said it," Phil added, "I better be off now, the Auror department had got their hands full with all of our new captures, no one will say a thing." After that, Phil apparated from the room with the sound of a crack.

"Were going to give you a few different potions to take for your different lacerations. You should be all healed up in a few days," the healer explained.

"Am I able to go home now?" Draco said hopefully, he was already quite sick of laying in the hospital bed.

"Yes, but we would suggest that you not apparate. You can use the floo network, there's a fireplace down at the end of the hall to your right," the healer informed him, "oh yes, and we also sent your girlfriend home this morning too."

"Thank you." Draco said as the healer left the room. Sitting on the table next to him was a set of his clothes that Aurora must have brought back for him while he was still asleep.

Cautiously, Draco got out of the bed. His body felt sore and bruised. He gingerly changed into his regular clothes and started to walk out of the room. He noticed that he had to walk with a sort of limp because of one of the larger gashes in his leg. Making his way down the hallway to the fireplace, he noticed that compared to the other patients he could see on the fourth floor, he was lucky. Curses can cause some nasty injuries, and the fourth floor was for those who were in the most critical condition.

Finally making it to the fireplace, he grabbed a handful of the green powder, and disappeared home.

**. . .**

**Friday, July 23rd, 1999**

Finishing work at precisely six o'clock, Aurora left Weasley's Wizarding Wheezes as quickly as she could. All day she had been thinking about Draco. Since the day before she couldn't stop thinking about him. After not being able to see him for weeks, all she wanted to do was go see him.

The night before, Draco had sent her a letter asking her to come by his house after work. Aurora was anxious to see him again and she wanted to be there with him to make sure he was feeling better and healing up well, but she was also nervous because she knew she was beginning to have really strong feelings for him. She didn't know if she had started to feel so seriously about their relationship too soon, it had almost been two months since their first date but she didn't have any previous experience with men. Out of insecurity, Aurora decided to wait to say much about these feelings because she wanted to be sure that Draco felt the same.

Aurora disapparated from Diagon Alley to the friendly neighborhood that Draco lived in. She rather liked the area, there seemed to be many families with children and everyone she passed either gave her a friendly smile or said hello. Approaching Draco's home, Aurora knocked on the door, she still wasn't quite comfortable simply apparating into his house.

Hearing Draco's familiar footsteps coming to the door, Aurora smiled, she thought it was amazing how even just anticipating seeing Draco's handsome face could make her so happy and giddy.

Draco opened the door and smiled at Aurora and let her inside and immediately pulled her into an embrace. He held her close and buried his face in her hair, she smelled so nice, he thought, like flowers and a sweet scented perfume.

"I'm sorry," he said as he hesitantly let go of her.

"What for?" Aurora asked as she looked up at him.

"For worrying you all that time, and for somehow managing to end up in the hospital on my first mission," Draco apologized, almost embarrassed for his incapability to stay safe while he was away.

"You don't need to apologize for that, it's your job. It's not your fault that you got hurt, from what I heard you did exceptionally well." Aurora said, trying to console him.

"You're right, it is my job. It's my job to make up for everything my family did and helped with during the war. I need to do this." Draco explained to her, but in all honesty, he didn't know what else he would be good at. It was almost like this is what he was always supposed to do.

"Well what do you do now that you're home?" Aurora asked, hoping he wouldn't say that he was leaving again.

"I'll work at the ministry in the Auror department, mostly helping other Aurors question the Death Eaters they have captured and help organize other Aurors missions. Since I was injured, they won't send me on another assignment for a while. I'm hoping I'll be assigned a permanent partner soon." Draco informed Aurora. He was utterly relieved that he didn't have to leave again for quite a while.

"I'm not going to lie, I'm glad you won't be going anywhere anytime soon." Aurora blushed as she admitted her relief.

Draco smiled at her words, "And why is that?"

"I really missed you and I wanted to be with you again." Aurora said shyly. She wanted to tell Draco how she felt about him no matter how shy she was because she didn't want him to think she was losing interest.

Draco took Aurora's hand and held it gently and said, "There wasn't one day while I was away where I didn't think about you or wish I was with you."

"Really?" Aurora asked, smiling at him and holding his hand back.

"Of course." Draco said as he smiled back at her. He reached up his other hand and stroked her cheek softly and kissed her tenderly.

Aurora's heart always raced whenever Draco kissed her. She felt so happy and the butterflies in her stomach went wild. Just being close to him made her whole day. There was no doubt in her mind, she loved this man.


	15. Be Bold

_**Well hello again! My it has been quite a long time and for that I am sorry. This chapter took me almost a year to write lol. I finally managed to finish it for you lovely readers and I hope that I will have made the wait worth it for you. I hope that themes in this chapter won't push some of you away.**_

**Saturday, July 24th, 1999**

Aurora was radiating happiness as she finished checking every product Weasley's Wizarding Wheezes had to offer in their stockroom. She really had no idea how George did it all, he somehow was able to make all of the product, manage a business, sustain a healthy relationship, and stay cheerful most of the time. But, Aurora knew that George probably stayed busy for a reason. She knew from Angelina that after his brother Fred's death, he couldn't even look at the place. It took a lot of encouragement and help from his friends and family to reopen the business and try and move on with his life.

It had only been a few months after Fred's death when Aurora first met George. He was looking for employees to help him fix up the business again and keep it going. Angelina made more of an effort at first to make friends with her. In the beginning, George only came down to the sales floor a couple times a week. But now, it had been over a year since Fred's passing and George seemed to be handling it as well as he possibly could.

Since Saturday was one of their busiest days of the week, Ginny came around and was working at WWW for the day. Ginny didn't exactly have a full time job, she had been recently trying out for several different women's Quidditch teams but she hadn't been recruited yet.

Finishing her morning shift, Aurora was happy to take her break. She looked forward to the usual banter between her coworkers who were also on hiatus.

Unsurprisingly, in the break room was Ginny and Harry sitting and talking together on the couch. Aurora almost felt bad for invading on their privacy, but she knew they wouldn't mind as they were at work and they were friends anyway.

"Hey Aurora," Ginny said, turning around at her walking in.

"Hello," Aurora said jovially. She took her lunch out of the magically chilled cabinet in the corner. It was very reminiscent of a muggle refrigerator, which Aurora had been accustomed to most of her childhood. After getting her lunch bag, she sat down on the couch adjacent to the other couch.

"Did Hermione decide not to come today?" Aurora asked Ginny, knowing that on usual Saturdays the whole Weasley clan came to help or hang out. It had become quite the tradition.

"No, we encouraged her to come but she said she didn't want to. She hasn't really wanted to do anything recently actually. I knew she would react to Ron leaving on his first assignment badly but I didn't think she would completely disengage." Ginny explained, clearly concerned for her friend.

"I know this might be a pointless question, but does she know where he is or anything about his mission?" Aurora asked, not fully knowing the situation but already assuming that the answer was no.

"No, she doesn't. She tried to get it out of him but he didn't say a word, there's no way Ron would put her in the situation where she knew information that could put her in danger," Harry interjected, "I don't know either, by the way."

"Why is she so afraid after everything you all have been through over the years?" Aurora questioned the pair. While she understood the worry and fear, she couldn't imagine herself being so worried that she couldn't go anywhere.

"Honestly, i think it's because of what happened to Draco," Ginny explained, "it was his first mission and he was injured. She's afraid that it could happen to Ron too."

"We tried to keep the information of what happened to Draco from her because we knew it would make her even more worried and upset, but she heard about it at the Ministry while she was at work." Harry told her.

"But what happened to him was unusual, they're still not even sure what happened." Aurora told them. She didn't know any more than what Draco had told her, but apparently the Ministry didn't either.

"How can they not know what curse hit him?" Ginny asked skeptically. "Shouldn't the Ministry know every spell in existence?"

"I'm not sure. His wounds are quite severe and unusual." Aurora sympathized with Ginny's skepticism.

"If you don't mind me asking, what are they exactly?" Harry asked curiously.

"Well, he has a lot of deep cuts and lesions all over his body and quite a few bruises. He looked pretty bad in the hospital." Aurora offered, hoping that Harry would know of a curse like that.

After she said Draco's symptoms, Harry and Ginny looked at each other curiously and back at Aurora.

"What?" Aurora said, confused by their sudden behavior.

"You say that he doesn't know what curse it was, or he doesn't remember at all?" Harry questioned her as if he knew something she didn't.

"Yes, why?" Aurora asked, leaning in, very interested in what Harry had to say.

"I'm not sure how you'll react to this, but that sounds very similar to a spell I cursed him with in our sixth year at Hogwarts. The incantation was Sectumsempra, I had found the spell in my potions book, and not knowing its power, I stupidly cursed him with it. I am very sure he would remember the incident and the injuries he sustained." Harry admitted to Aurora, hoping she wouldn't act out at him.

"Why would you do that? I know you two were not fond of each other in school but the curse you're describing sounds a little extreme." Aurora questioned.

"I didn't know it was such a severe curse, I thought it would be a simple curse that wouldn't do much harm. I never truly meant to try and kill him. But, whoever knew about this spell did want to hurt him in that way." Harry said guiltily.

"But why would he not think of it? I know that he suffered from a little memory loss but something like that I doubt he would forget." Aurora considered.

"Like I said, the symptoms are similar, but not exact. There were never any bruises with the spell I cursed him with, and most of the wounds were only on his upper body" Harry said, "even so, you should remind him and ask him if he told anyone of the spell."

"I will, I want them to catch whoever did that to him," Aurora said, thinking of the pain Draco must still be in from his wounds, her heart ached for him.

"And so does the Ministry, its almost embarrassing to the Auror department that they couldn't figure it out." Harry explained from his knowledge of the workings of the department.

Through the rest of her workday, Aurora thought about the curse Harry told her about. Surely Draco would've remembered such an occurrence. Trying to put it out of her mind, Aurora tried focusing on her work and helping the many customers flooding into the store. The busiest days were the most tiring, but also the most fun.

She noticed that George and Angelina seemed so happy and they couldn't seem to take their eyes off each other. It was so nice for her to see a couple so happy, it gave her hope that one day she would be on the road to getting married and settling down. She knew she was a bit young for it yet, but she couldn't help but dream of it.

**. . .**

Aurora was exhausted when her day at work was finally over, she was on her feet almost all day. As it was the middle of the summer, the sun was still high in the sky as she walked down Diagon Alley. She had never lived in such a lively and bustling place, there was never a shortage of people in the streets going about their daily business. The liveliness was so much a part of her life now.

Ollivander's shop was busy with young children anxious to receive their first wands. Aurora shuffled past them carefully and walked down the little hallway to the stairs leading up to her apartment. When she walked in, she heard a familiar flutter of wings that always made her smile.

Lucille ruffled her pretty white feathers as Aurora walked up to her and gently took the letter in her beak.

_Aurora,_

_I was wondering if I could see you tonight, my night is completely open._

_Draco_

Aurora smiled and quickly found her stationery and wrote a reply saying that she would love to see him and that he should meet her at her house at seven o'clock for dinner. No matter how much time they spent together, Aurora never lost the feeling of excitement from seeing him.

Looking at the clock in her kitchen, Aurora noticed that she had about an hour to make dinner and get ready. With a wave of her wand and a few simple incantations, Aurora started an easy recipe for lemon chicken that she remembered.

As the meal cooked, Aurora went to her bedroom and scanned her closet for something suitable to wear. She knew that this date was pretty casual and that she really didn't need to worry too much about what she wore but she still wanted to look nice. She chose a simple pair of capris, a white top, and a blue pendant necklace.

Going back into the kitchen, Aurora set the table and finished cooking the meal as she waited for Draco to arrive. She wasn't sure how she was going to bring up the curse Harry had told her about but she knew that doing so might help him remember.

Soon enough there was a knock on the door and Aurora felt the familiar pounding of her heart and went quickly to let Draco in.

As soon as she opened the door, Aurora couldn't help smiling. Draco always looked so handsome and it still baffled her that he was hers.

"Good Evening," Draco said as he smiled back at the beautiful woman in front of him.

"Good evening to you," Aurora said back, stepping back inside to let Draco in. Just seeing him made her heart flutter and yearn for him as she still was feeling pangs of missing him from when he was away for so long. And this knew knowing of her love for him set her a bit on edge, what if he didn't feel the same?

After chatting closely for a while, Draco and Aurora sat down for dinner. Aurora hoped she did the recipe correctly, she wasn't one for cooking but she enjoyed learning, and eating.

"So, what were you up to today?" Aurora asked Draco as she took a bite of her chicken.

"Well, I went to the ministry briefly to speak with Phil about the case. He sent me home almost immediately since I am not fully recovered. But, he also said that they did want me to come in soon to see if I might identify my attacker." Draco said, nervous about encountering the person who tried to kill him.

"I'm surprised they aren't urgently trying to get you to identify him. I thought that they were very eager to close the case?" Aurora mentioned while feeling bad that Draco still wasn't completely healed.

"I am too. I should be all healed up in a few days, the potions the healers gave me are quite strong. At least they taste that way." Draco said and chucked a bit, "Anyway, how was your day?"

"It was busy, but not more than usual. The hot topic at work has been George and Angelina's wedding. Apparently they're planning on having it New Year's eve. It'll be a nice way to ring in the new millenium." Aurora said while smiling.

"That should be a fun time, are you in the wedding?" Draco asked, wondering if he might be invited, probably not. He would be disappointed if he had to spend new years without Aurora but he would never attempt to sway her away from going.

"I don't know, Angelina hasn't really mentioned that part of it much. I hope so but it's alright if I'm not." Aurora concluded.

After a few moments of silence from them eating, Aurora remembered what Harry had said and knew she should mention it.

"Draco?" She asked a bit shyly, as she didn't know how he would react to her bringing up the event with Harry.

"Yes?" Draco responded looking back at her.

"Um, I was talking with Harry today at work and he mentioned something that might jog your memory about whoever attacked you." Aurora said carefully.

"What was it?" Draco asked, genuinely curious about what Harry had to say.

"He told me about a curse he used on you when you were in your sixth year that sounded similar to the injuries you have it was called septum-."

"Sectumsempra," Draco interjected, "I remember it. But my injuries are not the same exactly." He said, but he knew they were similar.

"Could it still be it?" Aurora inquired, feeling more comfortable noticing that Draco wasn't upset at her bringing it up.

"I don't think so, I mean no one else really knows of it. Severus Snape created it years ago and no one knew of it until Harry discovered it in his potions book and used it." Draco explained, thinking deeper if anyone else could have known it.

"Are you sure?" Aurora asked, wanting to know more about the curse.

"I can't be sure that no one else has seen it in that book from years past but I can't recall that I told anyone of it, I was quite embarrassed at the time that Harry got the better of me." Draco acknowledged.

"Do you have any hard feelings towards him still?" Aurora questioned, knowing already that Harry didn't for him.

"No, not at all. That whole time is behind us and I'm glad its over." Draco assured her, obviously wanting to move on from the topic of his past.

Noticing they were both finished with their meal, Aurora waved her wand and the dishes popped into the sink and began cleaning themselves. Growing up having to do dishes by hand made Aurora appreciate the simple spell.

"Did you want to take a walk this evening?" Aurora wondered, wanting to get out of the apartment for a while.

"Sure." Draco said as he got out of his chair. Before they left, he wanted a moment alone with her, he stepped forward toward her and hugged her close.

Aurora smiled to herself with her face pressed to his shoulder. He smelled so clean and manly, she thought about how it always made her feel a way she never really felt before. Like as if she needed to be near him, to touch him. She didn't know what to think of these new, almost sexual, feelings for Draco.

Draco looked down at Aurora and kissed her softly, taking in the feeling of her in his arms. It felt so right being with her like this. He knew that he wanted more, but he wouldn't push her. It would happen when she was ready.

Pulling away from the kiss, Draco took Aurora's hand and led her to the door. They walked out of her apartment and down the stairs to the dark streets of Diagon Alley. The street was only illuminated by a few street lights and lights coming from inside the local pubs.

Holding hands, they strolled down the alley for a while silently, enjoying each other's presence.

After a while, Draco remembered something he discussed with his mother the day before. He finally decided to mention Aurora to her. She was happy that he had found someone to be with but Draco knew that she had to pass her judgement before she really approved. He knew already that she would like her because she was exactly the kind of girl she wanted for her son. After telling her, Draco's mother invited them to a dinner party she was hosting the next week. Draco dreaded his mother's long dinner parties but he knew she wouldn't accept no for an answer.

"Aurora?" Draco asked quietly.

"Yes?" Aurora responded to him, looking up at him sweetly.

"I know I haven't really mentioned this much but, would you like to meet my mother? She's invited us to a dinner party on Tuesday. You don't have to if you don't want to of course." Draco almost wanted her to say no, but he knew that they'd have to meet eventually. He wondered if she would be surprised to see where he had grown up.

"I'd love to," Aurora said, admittedly nervous, "It would be nice to meet someone from your family."

"It will be at my parent's manor, where I grew up." Draco mentioned. He didn't know how she would quite react to his childhood home, he knew he came from a wealthy family and used to flaunt it as a child. But now he didn't want to talk about it, he didn't see a need to brag. Draco wanted to make his way in the world on his own.

"That'll be nice." Aurora smiled, she was happy that Draco felt comfortable enough to invite her to meet his mother. It was nice to know he was taking things as seriously as she was.

It was getting late when Aurora and Draco arrived back at her apartment. The clock read ten thirty.

Aurora yawned as they stepped through the door. She was tired but she didn't want Draco to leave. He had never stayed over at her house before and didn't know if he would want to.

Knowing she didn't want him to leave, she decided to be brave and ask, "Do you want to stay over tonight? It's late as it is."

A little surprised, and delighted by her question, Draco replied, "Yes, if thats alright with you."

Aurora walked up to him and gave him a quick kiss, "I have work tomorrow morning so we should probably get ready for bed now."

"Of course," Draco said, following her to her bedroom and closing the door behind them.

Draco had never been in Aurora's bedroom before, it was small and a bit girly. Her bedspread had flowers on it and her walls and little paintings of muggle cities. He could recognize Paris as one of them.

Aurora went into the bathroom to change into her pajamas, she wasn't sure how Draco would feel about her changing right in front of him. She wore a short chemise that fell loosely on her body. It was far too warm of a night to wear anything more. Looking at herself in the mirror, she wiped off any remaining makeup from the day with a wet cloth and brushed her hair out smooth.

Walking out of the bathroom, Aurora noticed that Draco was now in just his boxers. He must've felt the same about the heat. She could also see his remaining bandages on his shoulder and chest. He was looking aimlessly out the window at the other side of Diagon Alley.

As Aurora slipped into bed, Draco turned around and looked at her in a way Aurora had never been looked at before. She could see in his deep grey eyes that he desired her.

When Draco looked at Aurora in her light blue chemise, he couldn't help but stare at her perfect curves. He knew that he'd been trying not to show his immense desire for her in that way but he couldn't help it in that moment.

Aurora smiled at Draco as he got into bed with her. He immediately kissed her softly while laying slightly above her. Her lips were soft against his and complied to his kiss. Amazingly, she seemed just as eager to be close to him as he was for her. Running his hands down her soft curves, Draco kissed her more passionately.

Aurora couldn't believe how much she wanted Draco in that moment, she couldn't get enough of him. She kissed him hard and placed her hands gently on his chest making sure she didn't touch his wounds. Draco pulled Aurora closer to him, forcing her to move her hands to his muscular back.

Feeling the familiar desire rising in him, Draco felt himself harden, but he wasn't shy about it again. He wanted Aurora to know that he wanted her.

Immediately, Aurora felt Draco's length press against her stomach. She blushed as she continued kissing him feverously. She knew that she wanted this, she just needed to be brave.

To get even closer to him, Aurora placed her leg over his side and pressed herself against him. She ran her fingers through his hair and she could feel the desire in herself pooling in her most private area. It was such a new feeling for her, but she loved it.

Becoming aware of Aurora's boldness, Draco moved his hand up her chemise to feel her soft skin. Once he started touching her, he couldn't stop exploring. His hand finally rested on her bottom. Aurora's body pressed against his firmness made him feel like he never had before. He truly wanted her with every fibre of his being.

Aurora knew that this was it, she wanted to make her move. She didn't know exactly what she was doing, but she moved her right hand between them slowly until it was resting on the outside of Draco's boxers.

Draco sighed at her touching him outside of his boxers, he wanted her to keep going so badly. He kissed her passionately to show her he wanted her to continue.

Aurora kissed him back with the same fervor and began to stroke it slowly and smiled to herself when she got a pleasurable sigh from Draco. Feeling her own desires building, she forgot all of her shyness and boldly reached her hand down his boxers and touched his bare cock. It was slightly wet as she stroked the whole of it, she couldn't see it in the dark but she knew it had to be quite large.

Draco couldn't help but moan from what Aurora was doing. He had never felt something so good in his life. He almost couldn't believe she had never done that to anyone before. As she continued to stroke him, he knew he couldn't last much longer and he knew that he wanted to try and please her too.

Sensing that Draco was coming close to peaking, Aurora quickened her pace and kissed Draco's neck softly and moaned a little at her own passion for him building in her panties.

It was all over for Draco when he heard Aurora's little moan, he suddenly felt himself climax and moaned loudly from it. It felt like nothing he'd ever felt before and couldn't believe she could make him feel like that. He wanted to be able to do the same thing to her.

It startled Aurora when Draco came and her hand was suddenly soaked. She couldn't believe she had been able to do that to him. She didn't even know what she was doing, yet she was able to please Draco.

A little embarrassed, Draco quickly grabbed his wand from the side tabled and cleaned himself up.

Aurora smiled at Draco and kissed him softly. Draco kissed Aurora back lovingly as he continued to explore her curves with his hands. He had never seen that side of Aurora before and was anxious to see more of it.

Aurora had not forgotten the desire that had been rising in her the whole time, and when Draco began to touch her again, she knew she wanted to feel what she had made Draco feel.

Nervously, Draco kissed Aurora passionately, and ghosted his hand down her stomach and to the soft fabric of her panties. He could feel that she was wet and he gently slid his hand down the hem of her panties and touched her smooth and wet folds gently. Aurora moaned quietly, spurring him on to keep going.

Draco rubbed her sensitive nub, making Aurora whimper for more. Aurora was surprised at this new feeling of pleasure, she didn't want Draco to stop.

Slowly, Draco slid one finger inside her. She felt so wet and so tight around it, he continued to slide it in and out trying to be gentle with her as she seemed almost fragile to him. He kissed her gently as he played with her sensitive nub and slid another finger inside her. Aurora let out another beautiful sounding moan.

The way Draco was making her feel was unreal, she knew that she wouldn't be able to take it much longer. She kissed his neck again and down his chest and back up to his mouth to kiss him with so much need as she began to feel herself climax from the gentle strokes of his hand. When she hit her peak she whimpered Draco's name quietly. She had never had an orgasm before this, but now she knew why so many girls always talked about them at school.

When she was done, she kissed Draco softly. He looked into her eyes lovingly and Aurora giggled, she felt so shy after it was all done that she cuddled close to Draco and buried her head in his shoulder.

Draco held her close and smiled, he never knew that he could be this happy. It wasn't because of what they had just done, but because he had a woman who cared for him enough to show him her true self. He knew that he loved her, but he didn't know when the time was right to say it.

**. . .**

**Sunday, July 25th, 1999**

Draco laid awake in the early hours of the morning next to Aurora who was fast asleep. He had managed to forget their earlier conversation about his attacker until now. Could it really have been Sectumsempra? He couldn't think of anyone else who knew it, but there was no other curse that he knew of that could do the same damage.

Now that he had been thinking about it, he knew he had to find out for himself. He needed to go to the ministry and help with the questioning, he needed to know who attempted to end his life just when he found something to live for.

Thinking of this reason, he turned over to Aurora who was peacefully sleeping. She looked so calm and beautiful. He kissed her forehead softly and fell back asleep at her side. .

_**AN: It took me a long time to find my own courage to write something like this and to post it. Please tell me what you think and review!**_


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